Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec posts 9.1% return in 2015, buoyed by weak loonie

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec returned 9.1 percent in 2015 as international equities, boosted by a decline within the Canadian currency, offset negative returns in your own home.

Net investment income at Canada’s second-largest pension fund manager was $20.1 billion in 2015 versus $23.8 billion last year, based on a statement issued Wednesday. Net assets rose to $248 billion by Dec. 31 from $225.9 billion at the end of 2014, the Caisse said.

Results beat the five.4 per cent average increase of Canadian pension funds, as estimated inside a January report by RBC Investor Services. Over four years, the Caisse said its weighted average annual return was 10.9 per cent – topping the ten percent average return of its own benchmark.

Under Ceo Michael Sabia, who took control of in 2009, the Caisse continues to be increasing investments abroad while steadily boosting its contact with less liquid assets such as real estate to improve diversification. Today, almost 54 percent of the fund manager’s exposure is outside Canada, with “inflation-sensitive” investments such as property or infrastructure accounting for about 17 per cent of net assets.

“While not immunizing our portfolio against market movements, our strategy makes it more resilient in turbulent times,” Sabia said in the statement.

Related

Ottawa talking to pension funds about investing in infrastructureCanadian pension funds withdraw on infrastructure deals as prices climb beyond reason


Stocks Outperform

Equities were the top performing asset class for the Caisse last year, returning 11 percent on average. U.S. publicly owned stocks advanced 19 per cent while private-equity assets returned 8.4 percent, according to the statement. The Caisse’s $22.4-billion Canadian stock portfolio declined 3.9 per cent, less than the 11 per cent decline of the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index.

Results overall benefited from about a 15 per cent decline in the Canadian dollar against its U.S. counterpart.

With net assets of $282.6 billion at year-end, the Canada Type of pension Investment Board is the country’s largest pension fund manager.

Bloomberg News