Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec | Executive compensation at nearly 20 million

The good year of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) pushes up the remuneration of its six main executives, which is close to 20 million taking into account the compensatory sums received. This is a 30% increase. In addition, one of the main bosses of the institution now works in New York.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

Charles Emond, the president and CEO, was entitled to a salary of 4.5 million last year, up 30%. The former Scotiabank manager was also entitled to 1.8 million more – the last payment scheduled for his hiring bonus, which dates back to 2019. This brings his compensation to 6.3 million. The emoluments take into account base salary, incentive compensation and other benefits.

This information appears in the report of the pension plan manager tabled Thursday in the National Assembly. The document takes stock of the last year, when the institution obtained an average weighted return of 13.5%, above its benchmark index of 10.7%.

” It’s about [en 2021] the best results in 10 years for the Caisse, underlined its spokesperson, Maxime Chagnon, about the sums paid to the six most senior executives. The program is there to remunerate the performance obtained. »

In 2020, the senior management of the CDPQ was entitled to around 15 million, but the composition of the team changed along the way. The other two executives in office throughout the year, Emmanuel Jaclot, Senior Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure and Kim Thomassin, Senior Vice-President and Head, Quebec, were entitled to increases of 41% and 24% respectively. last year.

More extras

The Caisse paid 3 million in compensatory payments in 2021 to four of its main executives. Since the payments are spread over several years, they make it possible to retain managers, argues the Caisse.

“It’s risk management to spread it over time, says the director of the Institute for the governance of private and public organizations (IGOPP) François Dauphin. If the person leaves, we are not taken unawares. »

If there are no other changes to Mr. Emond’s team, most of these payments will stop after 2022.

In addition, the CDPQ now has a full-time officer based in New York, Martin Laguerre, the head of private equity. He is the only one of the six members of senior management who works outside. The United States represents 44% of the Caisse’s overall portfolio. This is the main market for the institutional investor.

“It is not worrying insofar as the CDPQ has a strong Quebec identity, argues Professor Yan Cimon, from the management department of Laval University, about the workplace of Mr. Laguerre. If you look at the dominance of the United States in the institution’s portfolio, that makes sense. »

Not the best paid

Despite the large increase in his overall pay, Mr. Emond’s emoluments remain lower – apart from the special payment attributable to his annual bonus – when compared to some of his counterparts.

At the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers), the emoluments of the most senior executive were 5.8 million. On the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) side, the president’s overall salary was $5.1 million in 2021.

The 2021 performance also benefited the 1,454 CDPQ employees who work in Quebec as well as abroad. They shared bonuses totaling 188 million, which represents an annual increase of 18%.

“This amount reflects an average increase of nearly 13% per person due to the variation in yields,” explains the Caisse in its annual report.

It is not only the amount of premiums that swells. The workforce of the CDPQ follows the same trend. As of December 31, the organization’s workforce was up 4.5% year-on-year.