Pension Pulse

The Business Desk reports the UK’s largest private crematorium and cemetery firm sold in a private equity deal: Westerleigh Group, the UK’s biggest private crematorium and cemetery operator, is being acquired by global alternative asset manager ICG for an undisclosed sum. ICG’s European Infrastructure team will buy the business, based at Westerleigh, near Bristol, from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Universities Superannuation Scheme, which have jointly owned it since 2016. The company operates 42 crematoria across England, Scotland and Wales and describes itself as the UK’s largest developer of new crematoria, having opened 21 sites since 2016. Debbie Smith, chief executive of Westerleigh Group, said the firm’s priority had always been to provide exceptional care to the families and communities it served. “ICG Infra shares our commitment to investing in our people, facilities and services, and brings a long-term perspective that aligns closely with our ambitions,” she add...

Sean Conlon, Lee Ying Shan, Ananya Chetia and Chloe Taylor of CNBC report the Dow tumbles more than 260 points after strong jobs report reignites rate hike fears: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Friday as August’s hotter-than-expected payrolls reading increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its next meeting. The 30-stock Dow was down 271.86 points, or 0.51%, closing at 53,414.25. The S&P 500 slid 0.38% to end at 7,718.60, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.29% to 26,506.99. Nonfarm payrolls grew 162,000 last month, much more than the 53,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones expected. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, as expected. On top of last month’s gain, figures for both June and July saw upward revisions. Treasury yields rose following the report, with the 2-year  yield hitting its highest level since January 2025 . Expectations that the Fed could raise rates in a couple weeks increased, as fed funds future...

Josh Welsh of Benefits and Pensions Monitor reports La Caisse, SMBC Aviation Capital expand aircraft leasing platform to US$3 billion: Canadian pension fund manager La Caisse and SMBC Aviation Capital have doubled the size of Maple Aircraft Company Holdings (MACH), their joint aircraft financing and leasing platform, from US$1.5 billion to US$3 billion, according to a release Thursday. The expansion, announced September 3, follows the full deployment of MACH's initial capital commitment ahead of the original timeline. Launched in 2024, the platform has assembled a portfolio of 21 aircraft leased to 13 airline customers across 10 markets, focusing on new-technology, fuel-efficient models. The investment period now extends through December 2029. ...

Ranjani Raghavan of Bloomberg reports  La Caisse buys US$1.3 billion stake in Indian telecom tower firm:  Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Canada’s second-largest pension manager, is investing 121 billion rupees (US$1.3 billion) in Brookfield Asset Management -backed Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust, which operates more than 258,000 telecom towers in India. La Caisse will acquire a 24 per cent stake in Altius, with Brookfield continuing as the largest shareholder, according to a media statement Wednesday. Other existing investors include GIC Pte and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. The deal reflects growing interest among global investors for Indian infrastructure assets, with Blackstone Inc., KKR & Co. and Macquarie Asset Management ramping up investments. Earlier this week, CPP Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Temasek Holdings Pte, AustralianSuper and others backed the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd.’s latest fund....

CPP Investments kicked off a very busy week. Yesterday, the Fund announced it is expanding its commitment to India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund:  Mumbai, INDIA (August 31, 2026) — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) today announced a commitment of up to INR 20.7 billion ( US$215 million) to NIIF Infrastructure Fund II (Fund II), the second India-focused infrastructure fund managed by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF), India’s sovereign-anchored alternative asset manager. Building on the success of NIIF’s inaugural infrastructure fund, Fund II will invest in infrastructure assets and platforms across India, with a focus on sectors benefiting from long-term structural trends including urbanization, digitalization and energy transition . NIIF was established in 2015 as a platform to attract private institutional capital to support the country’s infrastructure growth. CPP Investments and NIIF have a longstanding stra...