Ontario Teachers’ fund gains 11.1% on private equity, resources

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan returned 11% last year, helped by big gains in private equity and natural resources investments that mitigated losses in its bond portfolio.

The fund outperformed its benchmark by 2.3 percentage points, lifting assets under management to $189.2bn, the Toronto-based pension manager said Monday in a statement.

The fund told third-party managers that it has no desire to be exposed to Russia, Chief Executive Officer Jo Taylor said in an interview, adding that the firm’s indirect exposure to the country is less than CUS$50 million. Ontario Teachers’ also is ensuring its portfolio companies comply with the sanctions imposed on Russia, he said.

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Private equity holdings advanced 29%, while resources returned 28%. The fund’s private investments in resources include royalties on metals, mining, energy as well agricultural assets, Chief Investment Officer Ziad Hindo said in the interview.

The pension fund said its efforts to balance and diversify its portfolio through increasing allocations to credit, real assets and inflation-sensitive investments proved timely, and that it’s positioned to weather the impacts of higher prices.

Ontario Teachers’ made almost 50 deals for private assets last year, including a 40% stake in Finland’s largest electricity distributor and 50% of a U.S. solar and energy storage portfolio from NextEra Energy.

Teachers’ committed $5bn in energy transition assets, pushing its green portfolio to $30bn.

Source: BNN Bloomberg

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