CPP board says fund earned 6.8%

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says its fund, which includes the combination of the base CPP and additional CPP accounts, earned a net return of 6.8 per cent for its latest fiscal year.

The board says the gains for the year ended March 31 brought its net assets to $539 billion compared with $497 billion a year earlier. However, the board said the selloff in stock markets, particularly in China, muted its annual returns. The fund’s emerging-market holdings posted a loss “predominately driven by investments in China where public equity markets were negatively impacted by unanticipated regulatory reforms and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases,” according to a statement Thursday.

Turmoil in global markets during the last quarter exacerbated the pressure.

“The volatility affecting public equities during the final quarter, at levels not seen since the outset of the pandemic, muted returns achieved through the first nine months of the fiscal year,” the firm said. Investments in public equities returned 1.3 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 31.

The board says private equity, infrastructure, real estate and credit investments were the main contributors to the fund’s overall performance for the year. CPPIB CEO John Graham says the fund delivered solid returns despite turbulent market conditions in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine, supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and rising inflation. The board’s private-equity investments returned 18.6 per cent, driven by improved portfolio company earnings and outlooks in the information technology, financial and health care sectors in the U.S. and in Europe.