The value of employer-sponsored pension funds grew by 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2014, to $1.5 trillion, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly increase, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday.
For the year, pension fund assets increased by 12.3% in 2014, StatsCan reports, outpacing gains of 11.9% in 2013, and 9.7% in 2012.
Pension fund assets held in stocks increased 3.0% in Q4 2014. The value of mortgages grew 5.4%, while investments in bonds rose 2.8%.
The value of foreign investments in Canadian pension funds rose by 5.3% in Q4 2014, reports StasCan, accounting for about one-third of total pension fund investments.
Pension fund revenue rose by 24.6% in Q4 2014, while expenditures declined by 4.7%, due to reduced losses from the sale of securities, StatsCan reports.
With the increase in revenue, net income grew 69.1% to $23.5 billion.
In addition, pension fund managers reported a 13.2% year-end increase in employer and employee contributions, a 43.9% gain in investment income, and a 20.4% advance in profits on sale of securities.
More than 6.2 million Canadian workers are members of employer-sponsored pension plans, StatsCan reports. Of this group, 5.2 million (83.6%) workers belong to pension plans with assets managed by trusteed funds. The remaining members have assets managed by insurance company contracts.