Pension Pulse

Layan Odeh of Bloomberg reports Bridgewater hires ex-Ontario pension CIO Hindo as senior adviser: Bridgewater Associates is bringing on Ziad Hindo, the former chief investment officer of one of Canada’s largest pension funds, as a senior adviser in its new total portfolio strategies department, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hindo, who spent 23 years at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan , is the latest high-profile hire at the giant hedge fund since Nir Bar Dea became sole chief executive of the firm last year. He’ll report to Bridgewater’s head of total portfolio strategies, Joanna Alpert, and work closely with co-CIOs Karen Karniol-Tambour and Bob Prince, said the person, speaking on condition they not be identified speaking about an internal matter. Hindo held a number of senior investment roles at the Ontario fund before becoming CIO in 2018. He left the pension last year. Bridgewater, founded by Ray Dalio and now the world’s biggest hedge fund firm, hired ...

Luciana Magalhaes of Reuters reports manager of Canada’s public pension plan bullish on Brazil power and water sector, CEO says: After nearly two decades in Latin America, the Canada Pension Plan’s managers still see room to expand in the region and especially Brazil, where they believe a booming clean energy sector and water concessions offer long-term opportunity. CPP Investments, the public pension plan’s asset manager, has about $36 billion under management in Latin America, or about 5% of its global portfolio, in sectors from electric utilities and sanitation to real estate, telecoms and logistics. Although the world’s seventh largest pension fund has no geographical targets, chief executive John Graham says he expects the region’s share of the portfolio to hold steady or even rise. “We look for markets where we believe we can scale assets, develop relationships and partnerships,” Graham said at CPP Investments’ offices in the Sao Paulo financial district on Friday. ...

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports AIMCo sees reasons for optimism in markets after mixed first-half results: Alberta Investment Management Corp.’s chief investment officer is cautiously optimistic about the rest of 2024 after reporting mixed results in the first half of the year, anticipating a potential boost to stock and bond markets if central banks follow through on expected cuts to interest rates. Monetary policy decisions are “the big variable” for markets in the coming months, according to Marlene Puffer, who joined AIMCo as CIO last year. The chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said last week that “the time has come” for a shift in the central bank’s policy, and markets are now pricing in a September rate cut, with more to come. If the Fed follows through, “then we will have some tailwinds for the economy,” Ms. Puffer said. “But we have a lot of geopolitical uncertainty, a lot of variables that could come in to shake that up.” AIMCo reported a 5....

Canadian Biomass reports Canada Growth Fund spurs Svante carbon capture technology: Svante , a Vancouver, B.C.-based carbon capture and removal project developer, will see C$137 million (US$100 million) in federal funding to accelerate its commercial-scale projects in Canada and the U.S. Funded through Canada Growth Fund Inc. , the money builds on the C$198.65 million (US$145 million) Svante is investing in its new carbon capture and removal filter manufacturing facility under construction in Burnaby, B.C. “The Canada Growth Fund’s investment in Svante will help drive the kind of economic growth we need and keep Canada on track to net-zero by 2050,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in a press release. “By investing in cutting-edge Canadian innovators, we are decarbonizing industries and making energy more affordable, while reducing emissions and creating good-paying jobs.” The 141,000 sq. ft. facility is expected to produce enough filters...

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports PSP chief investment officer Eduard van Gelderen to leave pension fund after 6 years: Public Sector Pension Investment Board chief investment officer Eduard van Gelderen is leaving the $265-billion fund after six years in the job. PSP said Wednesday that it has “mutually agreed” with Mr. van Gelderen on his departure, which takes effect on Oct. 1. He will give up his day-to-day duties immediately, and the pension fund has named Alexandre Roy, a senior managing director in charge of total fund management, as interim CIO. Mr. van Gelderen joined PSP as CIO in 2018, coming from the University of California, where he was a senior managing director in the CIO’s office. The Dutch-educated executive also held senior roles at APG Asset Management and at ING Investment Management. PSP also announced internally on Wednesday that Patrick Samson, global head of real assets investments, will be leaving on Jan. 1. He will continue in his ro...