Pension Pulse

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports  IMCO CEO not backing away from private assets despite recent pressure on returns: The market for private assets has changed but Investment Management Corporation of Ontario chief executive Bert Clark says he isn’t backing away from private equity or private credit in spite of recent pressure on returns. Toronto-based IMCO earned 7.4 per cent on its investments last year, missing its benchmark by 1.4 percentage points. The bulk of those gains came from its portfolio of publicly traded stocks, which rose in value by 19.1 per cent. Returns from private assets were muted, in keeping with a trend that has played out with other large investors. IMCO earned 5.1 per cent on infrastructure investments, 6.5 per cent from private equity and 6.7 per cent from its global credit portfolio, according to annual financial results released Thursday. Real estate posted a modest loss of 0.5 per cent, and is now down an average of 5 per cent an...

Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han of CNBC report the S&P 500 slips Friday, but index posts best week since November after fragile Iran ceasefire deal:  The S&P 500 fell slightly on Friday, but the index managed to post a solid weekly gain as traders kept an eye on the fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. The broad market index dropped 0.11% to end at 6,816.89, while the Nasdaq Composite moved higher by 0.35% and closed at 22,902.89, bolstered by gains in key semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia and Broadcom . The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 269.23 points, or 0.56%, ending at 47,916.57. Still, the S&P 500 added about 3.6% this week, and the Nasdaq rose about 4.7% in the period. The Dow, meanwhile, gained 3% on the week. The indexes posted their best weekly performances since November. President Donald Trump on Friday accused Iran of “short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” saying in a Truth Social post ...

The Canadian Press reports  La Caisse to form European logistics joint venture with Prologis:  Quebec investment manager La Caisse has signed a deal with Prologis, Inc. to form a joint venture focused on acquiring, developing and operating logistics properties in Europe. Under the plan, La Caisse will hold a 70 per cent stake, while Prologis will own 30 per cent. Prologis will be the operating partner and provide specialized asset management and development expertise. The joint venture will have about $1.6 billion in seed assets combining income-generating properties and development sites contributed by both partners. It will include logistics operations across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. La Caisse and Prologis have worked together since 2019, when they formed a logistics joint venture in Brazil. Natasha Voase of Bloomberg also reports  Prologis, Caisse in US$1.2 billion logistics joint venture for European assets: La Caisse de De...