Pension Pulse

Gillian Tan, Swetha Gopinath and Layan Odeh of Bloomberg report OMERS to stop making direct private equity investments in Europe: The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System will stop making direct private equity investments in Europe as the pension fund overhauls its operations there, according to people familiar with the matter. Omers plans to shift its exposure in the region by investing alongside partners and third-party managers, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.  Jonathan Mussellwhite, who led private equity in Europe since 2018, left Omers earlier this month, a spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. The pension fund said previously that Michael Graham, its global head of private equity, will retire in February. Omers will launch a global funds strategy within a new group called Private Capital. The C$25.1 billion ($18.6 billion) private equity portfolio will be split, with Michael Block leading the gl...

By Liz Lee and Ellen Zhang of Reuters report China launches late stimulus push to meet 2024 growth target: China's central bank on Friday lowered interest rates and injected liquidity into the banking system as Beijing assembled a last-ditch stimulus assault to pull economic growth back towards this year's roughly 5% target. More fiscal measures are expected to be announced before China's week-long holidays starting on Oct. 1, after a meeting of the Communist Party's top leaders showed an increased sense of urgency about mounting economic headwinds.   Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources, that megacities Shanghai and Shenzhen are planning to lift key home purchase restrictions in coming weeks, joining a long list of smaller cities that have done so to ease a years-long property crisis.   On the heels of the Politburo huddle, China plans to issue special sovereign bonds worth about 2 trillion yuan ($284.43 billion) this year as part of fresh fisca...

On Wednesday, HOOPP's president and CEO Jeff Wendling announced his retirement:  TORONTO (September 25, 2024) – Jeff Wendling, President & CEO of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), announced today that he will be retiring in 2025 after more than a quarter of a century with the organization. Jeff was appointed President & CEO in April 2020. He will remain in the position until HOOPP’s Board of Trustees appoints a successor in 2025 and will work closely with the Board to ensure a smooth transition. “One of the things that first drew me to HOOPP, when I joined in 1998, was that I saw an organization with a lot of potential to become even more successful than it was at the time,” Jeff said in a message to staff on Wednesday. “After 26 years, together, we have proved that to be the case. Working toward our mission, delivering on the pension promise for Ontario’s healthcare workers, has been at the core of what we do.” Jeff became President & CEO ...

Freschia Gonzales of Benefits and Pensions Monitor reports CDPQ and Chinook launch platform to invest in Pacific Northwest forestland: CDPQ and Chinook Forest Partners have launched a new investment platform to build a diversified portfolio of forestland in the Pacific Northwest, US.   Chinook will manage the assets and deploy capital, with CDPQ becoming a minority shareholder to support the firm's growth and its natural capital portfolio expansion.  Founded in 2018, Chinook Forest Partners consists of professionals experienced in forestland and natural capital investments, with a network of landowners, forest product ma...