First six months of 2022 | Negative return of 7.9% at the CDPQ

The first six months of the year are tinged with red for the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), which delivered a negative return of 7.9%. Small consolation: the performance of Quebecers’ woolen socks is superior to the benchmark indices, where the declines are more marked.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

During a semester where there was a “combination of factors not seen for several decades”, the manager of public and parapublic pension and insurance plans saw its net assets melt from 28.2 billion, to 392 billion as of June 30. Excluding net deposits of 5.4 billion, the decline would have amounted to 33.6 billion.

“The first six months of the year have been very demanding,” said the institution’s president and CEO, Charles Émond, on Wednesday at a press conference. A rare simultaneous correction in the stock and bond markets, fears of an economic slowdown, as well as the war in Ukraine and its many collateral effects. »

The benchmark for the Caisse’s overall performance during the six-month period was -10.5%. Moreover, the CDPQ’s results for the first six months of the year do not take into account the stock market recovery that has been observed on the markets for a little over a month.

In the equity sector, which includes stock markets and private investments, the return was -10.6%, compared to the benchmark index of -11.9%. The tumble in the markets led to a 16% decline on the stock market side, while the drop was less pronounced on the private equity side (-2.4%).

The monetary tightening decreed by central banks in the hope of slowing inflation was reflected in the fixed income segment, where we find bonds. Performance was negative by 13.1%, compared to a benchmark of -15.1%. Rising interest rates cause bond prices to fall.

Real assets – real estate and infrastructure – fared much better, with a six-month performance of 7.9%, outperforming the benchmark index of 2.4%, a sign that they are “playing their role well. diversification,” according to the CDPQ.