Affected by the rapid rise in interest rates and the simultaneous correction of the stock and bond markets, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec posted a drop in yield of 7.9% for the first six months of 2022.
In total, the Caisse de dépôt’s net assets now stand at $392 billion, down $28.2 billion. “We never rejoice in a negative return, but we do better than the market,” said Charles Emond, President and CEO of the CDPQ, in a press briefing with the media.
For the first half of the year, the performance of the Caisse de dépôt was higher than that of its benchmark portfolio, down 10.5%. Its five-year and ten-year annualized returns, at 6.1% and 8.3% respectively, are also above benchmarks.
Asset classes
Shares of listed companies are the asset class that suffered the most (-16.0%) during the first six months of the year. “Investors had to navigate through the worst semester in the last 50 years,” said Mr. Émond.
In an exceptional context of simultaneous correction of the stock and bond markets, the Caisse also recorded a drop in yield (–13.1%) in fixed income for the first half of the year.
On the real asset side, however, the real estate and infrastructure portfolios recorded positive returns (10.2% and 5.8% respectively), “a sign that they are playing their role of diversification well enough to limit the impact inflation on the overall portfolio”, is detailed in the Caisse’s press release.
Further details will follow.