(Toronto) The boss of Canada’s largest pension fund manager says the institution was built to meet the current challenges of slowing economic growth, high inflation and weakening stock markets.
Posted at 1:43 p.m.
While the picture may be grim, John Graham, president and CEO of CPP Investments, told the Canadian Club in Toronto on Thursday that his organization was designed to create very long-term value and to be resilient in the face of to “changing market and economic conditions. »
Simply exposing capital to the markets has been a ‘winning strategy’ over the past decade amid rising valuations.
But growing geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, lockdowns and weakening public markets are now making this an increasingly difficult environment for investors to navigate.
Mr Graham says the key is active management and diversification, which helps to mitigate risk and provide a more resilient portfolio for its 21 million contributors and beneficiaries.
CPP Investments thus invests in a wide range of asset classes and growth-oriented companies, which behave differently throughout the economic cycle.
“It’s hard to get that edge if you’re mostly a purely passive investor,” he said in his speech.
The pension fund returned 6.8% last year, with assets reaching $539 billion, but its 10-year return is 10.8%.