Pension Pulse

 Peter Armstrong of the CBC reports on Carney's pitch to unlock trillions in global investment: CBC News has learned Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited 100 of the world's biggest investors to a summit in Toronto this September. The conference aims to pitch organizations that control trillions of dollars in capital on investing in Canada. The organizations include private investment firms such as Blackrock and some of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds, including Singapore's GIC. Invitations were sent out this week, and none of the invited parties responded to CBC News before publication. The summit is part of a broader effort to draw global investment back to Canada as the world grapples with deeper uncertainty and global volatility. Carney has been meeting with world leaders and private businesses during his trips abroad in an effort to attract more investment to Canada. Part of the pitch is that, amid geopolitical turmoil, trade upheaval and ...

Today, Vestcor released its 2025 results, generating a net return of 8.67%, after all expenses: Vestcor, Atlantic Canada’s largest investment manager, is pleased to present its 2025  Investment Performance Summary report, detailing another year of strong investment performance on behalf of our clients. 2025 saw Vestcor-managed portfolios generate a net return of 8.67%, after all expenses. Assets under management grew by $1.3 billion, reaching $24.4 billion at year-end and adding $165 million in value above investment benchmarks for our clients, after accounting for costs. Equity markets were the main driver of these strong results, with a return of 16.5% over the year. Canadian equities performed especially well, with an overall return of 32.0%. Investing in Canada is an important part of Vestcor’s investment strategies. Across all asset classes, approximately 60% of Vestcor’s assets under management are invested in Canadian companies, fixed-income investments, infras...

Chris Wellisz of Semafor World Economy reports  Norway will keep $1 trillion in US stocks, finance minister says:  Norway’s $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, will continue to invest about half its assets in US equities despite the economic fallout from the Iran war, Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said at Semafor World Economy. “We plan to continue to be a big investor in US companies and to have roughly half of our investments there, because the American stock market is so dynamic and reflects the strength of the US economy,” he said in Washington, DC on Wednesday. “But it makes us of course concerned when we see the consequences of the war in the Middle East, with increased energy prices that can increase inflation and push down growth.” Stoltenberg, a former secretary-general of NATO, said he believed tensions over the US-Israeli war on Iran wouldn’t prompt the US to leave the Atlantic alliance, as President Donald Trump has t...

Today, La Caisse published its 2025 Sustainable Investing Report: La Caisse published today its Sustainable Investing Report highlighting the results for the year ended December 31, 2025. During a year marked by global turbulence around sustainable investing, La Caisse remained committed – and even raised its ambitions after achieving its targets ahead of schedule. Last June, La Caisse unveiled a new 2025‑2030 climate strategy, with a target of $400 billion in climate action to accelerate the decarbonization of companies and the economy. The organization seeks to invest in companies that integrate the climate into their business models, whatever their activity sector, and to proactively invest in climate solutions . As at December 31, 2025, La Caisse’s climate action investments totalled $226 billion. La Caisse also made gains on several social and governance aspects over the past year. “...

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...