Pension Pulse

Yun Li and Thomas Franck of CNBC report the S&P 500 closes Friday lower as Amazon shares slide, but notches sixth straight positive month: U.S. stocks fell on Friday amid a slide in Amazon shares, but the S&P 500 notched its sixth straight positive month. The broad equity benchmark fell 0.5% to 4,395.26, dragged down by the consumer discretionary and energy sectors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.7% to 14,672.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 149.06 points, or 0.4%, to 34,935.47. Amazon sank nearly 7.6% after it reported its first quarterly revenue miss in three years and gave weaker guidance. Pinterest fell even further, down 18.2%, after saying it lost monthly users during the three months ended June 30. The major averages managed to wrap up a solid month, although volatility has picked up amid concerns about the economic recovery in the face of the spreading delta variant. The Nasdaq and Dow added about 1.2% and 1.3% respectively in July, whil...

Paula Sambo of Bloomberg reports that CPP Investments names Asia Head Kim to run private equity: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board picked an internal candidate as its new private equity head, naming Suyi Kim, the pension fund’s top executive in Asia, to run the $100 billion division. Kim will lead a department that’s an active player in buyouts globally, both in direct investments and through funds run by Apollo Global Management Inc., KKR & Co. Inc. and other private equity firms. CPPIB’s private equity assets have grown more than fivefold in the past decade. The appointment marks a key step in the reshaping of the team around Chief Executive Officer John Graham, who was given the top job in February when former CEO Mark Machin resigned after flying to United Arab Emirates to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, in defiance of government guidelines to avoid international travel. Kim is already one of the most powerful women at the C$497.2 billion ($399 billion) Canadian pe...

Brookfield Asset Management announced an initial US$7 billion closing for the Brookfield Global Transition Fund: Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM, TSX: BAM.A) (“Brookfield”) today announced an initial US$7 billion closing for the Brookfield Global Transition Fund (“BGTF” or the “Fund”), establishing BGTF as the largest fund focused on the global transition to a net-zero economy. The Fund will build on Brookfield’s leadership in renewable power and deep operating capabilities to scale clean energy and invest capital to catalyze the transformation of carbon-intensive businesses to achieve Paris-alignment. The founding investment partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”) and Temasek, have both committed to achieving net zero by 2050 or sooner. To this end, included as part of this closing, Ontario Teachers’ and Temasek are committing significant capital in, as well as strategically investing alongside, the Fund. PSP Investments (“PSP Investments”)...

BCI released its fiscal year 2021 results today, gaining 16.5% last fiscal year: Highlights One-year return of 16.5% 10-year annualized return of 9.0%, representing $10.2 billion in added value Five-year annualized return of 9.3%, representing $4.0 billion in added value Assets under management increased by $28.3 billion to $199.6 billion in fiscal year 2021 VICTORIA, BC (July 26, 2021): British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) today published our Corporate Annual Report announcing we ended our fiscal year on March 31, 2021, with $199.6 billion of assets under management and delivered a 16.5 per cent one-year return for our combined pension plan clients, net of all fees. The $28.3 billion increase of assets under management reflects investment gains of $27.4 billion and $900 million of client net contributions. “Thanks to the trust and confidence of our clients and the skill and commitment of our employees, we look back at a difficult and challenging ye...