Ontario Teachers’ fund weighs new India office
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, one of Canada’s largest public-pension managers, is considering opening an office in India as part of its expansion into fast-growing emerging markets.
The $242-billion fund could open an office in the subcontinent as soon as next year, chief executive Jo Taylor told Bloomberg News in an interview Tuesday.
“If you are looking at a geography which is the most likely next location for us, I think it’s going to be India. We are already quite active there,” Taylor said.
In April, OTPP agreed to invest up to US$175 million in KKR & Co’s India road investment platform. OTPP is still deliberating the asset classes it will target in India, according to Taylor. It may initially look to recruit about 10 people in the country, depending on strategy, but won’t bring people in “just for the sake of hiring,” he said.
Deal activity in India has been accelerating amid a rising stock market and a push by the government to monetize some state assets. Mergers and acquisitions involving Indian companies have jumped 166 per cent this year to US$127 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
OTPP manages the retirement pots of teachers in Ontario. It’s among a slew of pension investors from Canada that have expanded their global presence in recent years to become one of the world’s largest pools of institutional capital.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, another of the country’s biggest managers of retirement money, opened a Mumbai office in 2015 and has done dozens of deals since then. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. also has offices in India and is an active investor across real estate, infrastructure and technology.
A surge in the value of private assets helped boost the performance of the Canadian funds last year. OTPP said in March that it returned 11 per cent in 2021, as improved performance in its private equity and natural resources investments mitigated losses in its bond portfolio.
Separately, OTPP is looking to set up a credit investment team in London, chief investment officer Ziad Hindo said.
“London is really flush with a lot of talent that specializes in credit,” Hindo said. “We are in the process of putting a foundation for that team, but the idea is that in the next five years we will significantly expand our credit capabilities.”
Volatility in equity markets is opening up opportunities in asset classes like fixed income, where OTPP had cut exposure in recent years, according to Hindo.