Pension Pulse

Matt Toledo of Chief Investment Officer reports  Norway’s sovereign wealth fund returned 15.1% in 2025: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund saw strong performance in equities and energy infrastructure in 2025. The Government Pension Fund Global, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, reported a 15.1% return last year, with fund assets reaching 1.526 trillion kroner ($2.228 trillion). The fund’s return was 28 basis points lower than its benchmark index, according to an NBIM  statement  released Thursday.  “The fund delivered very strong results in 2025,” NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen said in a statement. “Stocks in technology, financials and basic materials stood out, making a significant contribution to the overall return.”  The fund allocated 71.3% of its assets to publicly listed equites, 26.5% to fixed income and 1.7% to real...

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports  CEO’s payout, workplace relationship spur upheaval at Ontario pension plan: Senior executives at CAAT, a $23-billion Ontario pension plan, raised concerns about the approval of an unusually large payout to the plan’s chief executive officer, setting in motion a governance crisis that has resulted in abrupt departures and scrutiny from the provincial regulator, according to sources. Board chair Don Smith was recently suspended from his position on the board of trustees at the CAAT Pension Plan by the union that appointed him, three sources told The Globe and Mail. The Globe spoke with eight sources familiar with the matter to understand what caused recent upheaval in CAAT’s senior ranks. The Globe is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to discuss the matter. CAAT is a multiemployer pension plan that serves Ontario’s colleges and more than 800 public- and private-sector employers. It has a total of abo...

IPE Real Assets reports  University Pension Plan Ontario buys stake in Schroders Capital’s Dutch industrial portfolio Schroders Capital and University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) have formed a European logistics and industrial real estate investment partnership. As part of the new partnership targeting Northwestern Europe, the Canadian pension fund has acquired an interest in Schroders Capital’s portfolio of industrial logistics and warehousing assets in the Netherlands. Financial details were undisclosed. Peter Martin Larsen, senior MD and head of private markets, UPP, said: “We are delighted to establish this partnership with Schroders Capital. The partnership supports our strategy to build a resilient, income-generating real estate portfolio by partnering with leading real estate specialists focusing on markets with strong fundamentals. “By partnering with Schroders, we are strengthening our European real estate platform while positioning ours...

AIMCO's CIO Justin Lord spoke with Sarah Rundell of Top1000Funds on their new strategy focusing on cost, efficiency and less directs:  Efficiency, cost savings and less direct investment in private equity are key tenets of investment strategy at C$182 billion ($133 billion) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) under the leadership of new chief investment officer, Justin Lord. Lord has been at AIMCo for 14 years, climbing the ladder to lead the public markets division before he was promoted to the helm in July last year, tasked with steadying the ship after a tumultuous 2024 when the provincial government of Alberta terminated the entire 10-member board and its CEO Evan Siddall citing underperformance and rising costs. [See Chaos at AIMCo as politicians take control ]. In an interview from AIMCo’s Edmonton offices, Lord tells Top1000funds.com that centralising the investment process has been a key focus in his first six months as CIO, particularly around liq...

Rian Howlett ,  Karen Friar and Laura Bratton of Yahoo Finance report the Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq slide to cap volatile week and month, metals sink after Trump taps Warsh for Fed: US stocks slid on Friday as President Trump said he would nominate Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, against a background of a rising dollar and a screeching halt to 2026's roaring metals rally . The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) fell 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively, recording another down session for tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) dropped 0.4%. Despite Friday's volatility, all the gauges notched slight January gains. The Dow and Nasdaq both posted their third straight losing weeks, while the S&P 500 snapped its losing streak, rising 0.3% over the past five days. Markets are calculating the potential impact after Trump said he has chosen frontrunner Warsh as the US central bank's next chair. The form...