Pension Pulse

CPP Investments CEO John Graham wrote a comment for the Financial Post on why protecting the CPP means taking the long view on investment returns: Every July 1, Canadians from coast to coast take stock of what we’ve built together and the many bold actions that have shaped Canada into the resilient country it is today. Take 1965, for example. This was a year that united us under one symbol, the national maple leaf flag. That year, we also helped secure our collective financial future through the creation of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The CPP was a big, bold idea: Canadians would be safer and more secure in retirement if we worked together and looked after one another. For 30 years, the CPP prospered and helped reduce seniors’ poverty. So, when demographic shifts began to threaten CPP sustainability, Canadians came together again to save the program. In 1997, the federal government and participating provincial governments increased contribution rates and created CPP Inve...

Amit Chowdhry of Pulse 2.0 reports  Warburg Pincus to buy Network Plus from OMERS Private Equity: Warburg Pincus announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Network Plus from OMERS Private Equity and other shareholders. Network Plus is a UK-based utility and infrastructure services provider founded in 2000 and headquartered in Worsley, Greater Manchester. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is intended to accelerate Network Plus’ growth as a provider of maintenance, enhancement, and operational services across the water, wastewater, gas, power, and broader infrastructure sectors. Network Plus works with major UK utility providers to support critical infrastructure investment and performance goals. The company delivers essential services that help maintain and improve utility networks serving communities across the country. Warburg Pincus said it plans to support Network Plus’ continued growth and service delivery, whi...

Benefits Canada reports that according to new survey by HOOPP and Abacus Data, 65% of younger Canadian employees willing to switch jobs for a DB pension plan:  Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadian employees aged younger than 35 say they’d consider changing jobs if a new employer offered a defined benefit pension plan, according to a new survey by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Abacus Data. The survey, which polled more than 2,000 workers, found 63 per cent of younger Canadians said they might relocate to another community to have access to a job with a DB pension. More than nine in 10 Canadians said they’d choose to pay nine per cent of their salary, with contributions matched by their employer, into a DB pension plan in exchange for secure lifetime income in retirement. Seven in 10 (69 per cent) said they’d take a slightly lower salary if the job came with a pension and more than half (57 per cent) said they’d choose a guaranteed lifetime p...

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports  B.C. pension manager BCI gains 6.7% and puts money to work in private markets facing pressure: British Columbia Investment Management Corp. made a record $35.7-billion of new investments in private assets last fiscal year, leaning into market turmoil that has strained companies’ valuations and debts. Victoria-based BCI earned a 6.7-per-cent return on its investments in the fiscal year that ended March 31. That fell short of its internal benchmark of 7.6 per cent. The pension fund’s performance largely tracked the same themes that shaped annual results from other large Canadian pension investors . Stocks produced strong gains, private assets underperformed and benchmarks were hard to meet because they are heavily tilted toward the largest U.S. technology companies that have soared in value. But BCI treated a tough year in private markets as an opportunity to buy assets at a discount as inflation, tariffs and wars slowed dea...