Announced by Canada Pension Investment Board on monday The pension fund said assets had risen to C$264.9 billion ($192.71 billion) at the end of fiscal year 2024 (ending March 31), up 7.2 percent from the previous year. 2024 Annual Report.
Strong returns were primarily seen in pension equity, credit, private equity and infrastructure portfolios, each of which delivered double-digit returns above their benchmarks.
“We recorded positive returns against the backdrop of the volatility of the past few years, dominated by geopolitical uncertainty, inflation and rising interest rates,” Eduard van Gelderen, chief investment officer at PSP Investments, said in a press release. “PSP Investments’ performance demonstrates the strength and resilience of our portfolio and the talent of our people.”
PSP Investments manages investments to fund benefits for Canada’s public servants, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Reserve Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, totalling more than 900,000 beneficiaries.
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Asset Class Returns
Apart from the fund’s 7.2% fiscal year return, PSP’s portfolio has returned 7.9% and 8.3% annualized over the past five and 10 years, respectively.
PSP Investments’ capital markets portfolio, comprised of publicly offered equities and bonds, returned 17.5% during the fiscal year, with the equity portion returning 10.3% and the bond portion increasing by C$11.2 billion to C$56.2 billion.
Real estate was the worst performing asset class in PSP’s portfolio, down 15.9%, with a loss of approximately C$5.1 billion. PSP attributed the real estate losses primarily to rising interest rates and weakening office rents and occupancy rates in the North American market.
Private equity returned 12.1% during the fiscal year, ending the period with net assets of C$40.4 billion and portfolio income of C$4.5 billion. PSP Investments said the strong private equity portfolio returns were made possible by the high quality of the fund’s co-investment portfolio and the strong performance of its financial and healthcare sector investments.
The fund’s credit investments returned 14.2% during the fiscal year, growing assets to C$26.2 billion. PSP’s infrastructure and natural resources portfolios returned 14.3% and 4.1%, respectively, growing assets to C$34.5 billion and C$15.2 billion.
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Tags: Canada , Eduard van Gelderen , PSP Investments , Public Sector Pension Investment Board
