CPP Fund ends fiscal first quarter at $153.2 Billion

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Source: CPP Website

The CPP Fund ended the first quarter of fiscal 2012 on June 30, 2011 with net assets of $153.2 billion, an increase of $5.0 billion from the previous quarter ended March 31, 2011.

The increase in net assets this quarter resulted from $1.3 billion of investment income, generated primarily from private assets in the portfolio, and $3.8 billion in excess CPP contributions. The investment income for the quarter represents a 0.9% return.
“Results for the quarter demonstrate our long-term global investment strategy in action, including initiatives to further enhance the CPP Fund’s holdings in private market investments,” said David Denison, President and CEO, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. “While major equity indices were down this quarter, the Fund’s private equity holdings and real estate portfolio helped deliver positive results overall.”

Read more: http://cppib.ca/News_Room/News_Releases/nr_08111101.html

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In 1996, under the Jean Chretien government, the Canada Pension Plan was placed under a semi-autonomous agency to invest pension contributions outside of solely government assets (bonds). At the time, the total assets in the plan were $33 Billion in non-negotiable federal and provincial bonds. As pension payouts weren't expected to surpass receipts until 2021, this gave a quarter century of leaway for the investment growth to accumulate. In 2001, the fund managers predicted the fund would reach $130 Billion by 2011. Due to prudent investments, and an increase in contribution amounts, it has done much better than that. The beauty of this program is the government can't raid the plan for short term political gain. By taking the long term investing view, they have weathered the storm of downturns to have a stable fund to benefit Canadian retirees for an estimated 70 years.