Powered by stocks and real estate investments, pension assets and net income rose in the fourth quarter of 2015 (Q4 2015), Statistics Canada announced Thursday.
The market value of employer-sponsored pension funds grew by 3.0%, which followed a 0.7% decline the previous quarter. Pension fund assets totalled $1.7 trillion in Q4 2015.
The gains were driven by equities and real estate investments, StatsCan says, as pensions’ stock holdings increased 4.0% during the quarter, the value of mortgages rose 5.9%, and investments in real estate rose 5.1%.
Additionally, the value of foreign investments gained 5.0%, driven by a 7.3% gain in the value of foreign stocks.
Pension fund revenue shot up 59.5% in Q4 2015, StatsCan says, as contributions, investment income, and profits from the sale of securities all increased. Conversely, expenditures fell 26.5%, due to reduced losses from securities sales.
The combination of higher revenues and reduced expenditures powered a jump in net income, which rose from just $2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2015 to $29.7 billion in Q4 2015.