Omers posts 15.7% return with surge in private equity, stocks

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System returned 15.7% last year, driven by gains in its private equity and stock holdings.

The increase, which exceeded the 6.6% benchmark, pushed net assets to $121 billion (US$95.4 billion). Net investment income stood at $16.4 billion, the Toronto-based pension fund said in a statement Monday.

The fund’s private equity holdings returned 25.8% “both organically and through acquisitions,” according to the statement. The fund earned 20.7% in equity markets and 15.9% in real estate.

“Last year was a spectacular year for us and and those are hard to replicate,” Chief Executive Officer Blake Hutcheson said in an interview Monday. “But we believe in our people and we certainly have optimism for this year” even with rising interest rates, accelerating inflation and political risks, he said.

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Omers has no direct investments in Russia, Hutcheson said.

Omers has 25 companies in its private equity portfolio. “We are incrementally a net buyer, and that tends to be our strategy every year,” he said.

Among the pension fund’s investments is a stake in Azure Power Global Ltd., a renewable power power producer in India, and oil distribution firm BridgeTex Pipeline Co.

Founded in 1962, Omers has 1,000 participating employers and over half a million members including union and non-union employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems and electrical utilities across Ontario.

Source: Bloomberg BNN

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