Pension Pulse

I wasn't going to blog today but I realize that I've been slacking on my coverage of the Caisse. Two weeks ago, Devin Banerjee, Scott Deveau, and Frederic Tomesco of Bloomberg reported, Caisse Joins KKR in $4.3 Billion Deal for Onex's USI Insurance : KKR & Co. and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec agreed to buy Onex Corp.’s USI Insurance Services for about $2 billion as the acquirers partner to make long-dated private equity investments. KKR and CDPQ, Canada’s second-largest pension fund manager, will have equal ownership in the Valhalla, New York-based insurance broker, according to a statement Friday. The deal values USI at $4.3 billion including debt. The acquirers also said they’ve established a partnership to make core private equity investments, or deals for stable companies they can hold for longer than the typical three- to five-year period in leveraged buyouts . Private equity firms have long favored deals in insurance services, where capital ...

Matt Scuffham of Reuters reports, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan sees lower 2016 rate of return : The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's rate of return dropped to 4.2 percent last year from 13 percent in 2015, the fund said on Wednesday, citing unfavorable currency movements. The results still exceeded a benchmark target of 3.5 percent for the fund, Canada's third-biggest public pension plan . The plan, which administers pensions for 316,000 working and retired teachers in Canada's most populous province, said its net assets grew to C$175.6 billion at the end of 2016 from C$171.4 billion a year earlier. The fund, which has investments in more than 50 countries, said currency movements had a negative impact of 280 basis points on its rate of return in 2016, compared with an 830-basis-point positive effect in 2015 . Ontario Teachers' said it was 105 percent funded as of Jan. 1, meaning it had a surplus of assets with which to meet its future pension obl...

Benefits Canada reports, PSP Investment consortium acquires U.S. data centre : A consortium that includes the Public Sector Pension Investment Board has acquired Vantage Data Centers, a U.S.-based provider of data centre solutions. The consortium, which also includes Digital Bridge Holdings LLC and TIAA Investments, has purchased Vantage Data Centers from technology investor Silver Lake. The terms of the private purchased were not disclosed . Vantage Data Centers was founded in Silicon Valley, California in 2010. It has four data centres at this location, as well as a campus in Quincy, Washington. “We are confident that Vantage is ideally positioned to successfully deploy its winning expansion strategy, and look forward to supporting the company’s . . . management team,” said Daniel Garant, executive vice-president and chief investment officer at PSP Investments. “ Vantage’s leading market position, in a sector which we believe will grow significantly in the coming years ,...

Lucinda Shen of Fortune reports, Eton Park Closing Shows How Hedge Funds Are Dying at an Alarming Rate : While doors are opening all over the White House for Goldman Sachs alumni , another one is being closed by one of its former shooting stars. Eton Park Capital Management, helmed by Eric Mindich, is shutting down and returning its capital to investors, the hedge fund told its clients in a letter Thursday. It's a disappointing end for the hedge fund, which opened in 2004, riding on Mindich's financial pedigree and reputation as a wunderkind. At the time, Eton Park was said to be the biggest-ever hedge fund launch, with $3.5 billion in capital commitments, according to the New York Sun . But now, its holdings, which once ballooned to $14 billion, have withered down to $7 billion, after the hedge fund made several bad stock bets, accelerating the exodus of investors who have lost faith not only in Eton Park, but also in the industry . "Recently, a combinat...