CPP Investments says its portfolio of retirement funds performed well during the summer months, adding $22.3 billion or 5% in net assets since the previous quarter.
The independent investment manager for the Canada Pension Plan says it had $456.7 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, up from $434.4 billion at the end of June.
Most of the growth came from $21.6 billion in net income from investments, after all CPP Investments costs. In addition, there was $700 million in net contributions from the Canada Pension Plan.
CPP Investments attributed the fund’s growth to a continued recovery of public equity markets in July and August, which affected both its publicly traded and private equity holdings. Those gains were partly offset by a retreat of public markets in September amid concerns about further Covid-19 lockdowns.
On a longer-term basis, after adjusting for inflation, the second quarter of fiscal 2021 had a 10-year annualized net real return of 8.8% and a five-year annualized net real return of 8.0%.
Canada’s chief actuary has estimated the funds require an average real rate of return of 3.38% over 75 years.
Chief executive Mark Machin says all of the Toronto-based fund manager’s investment departments generated positive returns during the quarter but the organization remains cautious given the uncertain economic fallout of Covid-19.
“Our investment professionals continue to pursue opportunities that will bring value to the fund over the long term,” Machin said in a statement.
The fund manager also said Monday that Frank Ieraci has joined the senior management team as senior managing director and global head of active equities. Ieraci will lead the active equities department, which includes public and private companies.
He was previously managing director, head of research and portfolio strategy at CPP Investments.