Paula Sambo of Bloomberg reports Canada Pension Plan board names veteran David Colla as credit chief:

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest such money pool, named insider David Colla as global head of credit investments, elevating a private-debt specialist after the strategy posted returns in the teens last fiscal year.

Colla, who joined CPPIB in 2010 and most recently led its capital solutions group, will assume the role April 1 and join the senior management team, the pension manager said Tuesday. He succeeds Andrew Edgell, who led the credit platform for five years and nearly doubled its size. Edgell will move to a senior adviser position.

Chief executive John Graham said Colla’s experience across leveraged finance and structured credit will help the unit for its “next phase,” as private debt takes on a larger role within the portfolio.

CPPIB returned 14.4 per cent in the credit asset class in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.

Colla previously oversaw growth in leveraged finance and structured credit and has been closely involved in CPPIB’s relationship with Antares Capital, where he serves on the board. The Chicago-based firm, which was acquired by the pension fund in 2015, is an alternative credit manager that had more than US$85 billion of assets as of last June.

Previously, Colla worked at Oaktree Capital and JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to his LinkedIn page.

Private credit has drawn rising allocations from global pensions as banks pull back from riskier lending. Higher interest rates have also boosted yields on senior secured loans, making the asset class attractive for long-term investors seeking income and downside protection.

CPPIB has maintained an active deployment pace. In the quarter ended Dec. 31, it committed or invested more than US$800 million across credit transactions, including loans to automotive software company OEConnection and real estate restoration firm Servpro. 

Earlier today, CPP Investments announced the appointment of David Colla as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Credit Investments:

TORONTO, ON (February 24, 2026) – John Graham, President & CEO, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) announced today the appointment of David Colla as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Credit Investments, effective April 1, 2026. He will join the organization’s Senior Management Team.

Colla succeeds Andrew Edgell, who has decided to step away from his role as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Credit Investments. After 18 years in a range of senior leadership positions at CPP Investments, Edgell will continue with the organization as a Senior Advisor.

“David is an experienced and highly regarded investor with deep expertise across the credit spectrum,” said John Graham. “Over the past 16 years, he has been instrumental in building and scaling our credit platform, including the growth of our leveraged finance and structured credit capabilities. His strong investment judgment, commitment to partnership and focus on talent development position him well to lead Credit Investments into its next phase.”

Colla joined CPP Investments in 2010 and most recently led the Capital Solutions Group. During his tenure, he has overseen the expansion of the Americas Leveraged Finance and Structured Credit businesses and played a key leadership role in the acquisition and ongoing management of CPP Investments’ investment in Antares Capital. He serves on the boards of Antares Capital and Antares Holdings.

“Andrew has made countless contributions to CPP Investments throughout his career,” added Graham. “Over the past five years, as Global Head of Credit Investments, he has led the continued growth and performance of the credit business, nearly doubling the size of the portfolio. We are grateful for his leadership through the years and are pleased he will continue to contribute to the organization in his new role.”

About CPP Investments

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments™) is a professional investment management organization that manages the Canada Pension Plan Fund in the best interest of the more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, we make investments around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure, fixed income and alternative strategies including in partnership with funds. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At December 31, 2025, the Fund totalled C$780.7 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram or on X @CPPInvestments.

Alright, big news at CPP Investments so let me begin by congratulating David Colla, the new Global Head of Credit Investments, effective April 1st.

Was I surprised David was appointed to head up Credit Investments? No, he's a top credit investor with years of experience, I would have been shocked if he didn't get that position.

I think what surprised me was why did Andrew Edgell who led the credit platform for five years nearly doubling its size decide to step down and be a senior advisor to the CEO?

Andrew is a really sharp and nice guy, I have spoken to him a couple of times and like him a lot. 

In fact, I think highly of him and David Colla (they're both first-class on every level). 

So it surprised me that he's decided to step down.

There has been a lot of negative press lately in the private credit industry and some think this may be performance related but Credit Investments at CPP Investments are doing very well, they're the top institutional investor in the world in this space.

I reached out to John Graham for a comment and he graciously replied:

"Certainly a lot of noise about private credit right now, but this leadership transition is totally unrelated. Andrew came to me a year ago and shared that he wanted to move out of the day to day of running a large department, give David Colla a well-deserved opportunity and focus on some other high priority initiatives. Andrew is still with CPP Investments, will continue to serve on investment committees and will lead some CEO special initiatives."

Now, I'm not going to lie, when I read that reply, the first thing that went through my head is they're grooming Andrew Edgell to become the next CEO.

Why? When a senior managing director steps down from a critical portfolio to work on "CEO special initiatives", it typically means he or she is getting the lay of the land and is being groomed for the top job.

I might be off, way off, but I've spoken to Andrew and he can easily be the next CEO of CPP Investments (don't forget, John Graham was his predecessor before assuming the top job exactly five years ago). 

Having said this, I bounced this idea off a senior executive at CPP Investments who shared this with me: 

"I agree that both (Andrew and David) are stars in their own right. Still, the depth of talent at CPP Investments runs deep and wide, and with a Board of Directors taking succession planning very seriously at various key levels and roles, I believe with such a deep pipeline of talent it might be a little too speculative..."

No doubt about it, the depth of talent at CPP Investments runs deep and wide so maybe it's premature to assume anything at this point until an official announcement is made.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this nomination. I want to reiterate, David Colla is the best person to lead Credit Investments at this time and that's why he was chosen to replace Andrew Edgell who is an equally outstanding leader and investor in his own right.  

I wish then both well.

Below, private credit, a form of lending by non-bank financial institutions to businesses outside of public markets, was once a niche corner of Wall Street. Now, private credit is going mainstream as it seeks funding from retail investors. CNBC’s Hugh Son breaks down the rise of private credit, why retail investors are looking into private credit and the risks and upsides of investing in the space (a month ago).

Also, Dan Nathan and Guy Adami are joined by Jen Saarbach and Kristen Kelly of The Wall Street Skinny to discuss two major developing market stories ahead of meeting in Miami for the iConnections Global Alts conference. 

The first topic is stress in private credit, centered on Blue Owl’s retail-focused semi-liquid vehicle (Blue Owl Capital Corp II) facing heavy redemptions and gating, highlighting the liquidity mismatch between retail redemption needs and long-dated loan assets. They contrast the gated evergreen structure with Blue Owl’s publicly traded BDC that was trading roughly 20% below NAV, discuss Blue Owl’s reported loan sales near NAV, and explore why the issue is pressuring related stocks like Blue Owl and Blackstone despite an S&P 500 that appears indifferent. 

The group connects the private credit conversation to how AI/data center buildouts are financed, including references to Meta-related structures and concerns about CoreWeave’s ability to raise capital for data center obligations, and notes that credit markets often reprice quickly only after complacency breaks. 

The second topic is prediction markets, focusing on Kalshi and its partnership with Tradeweb to publish analytics and potentially enable institutional trading of binary outcomes on events like Fed decisions and macro data, raising questions about democratized access, liquidity constraints, regulatory gaps, spoofing, and the role of insider information, along with implications for politics and whether more information is always better.

We’re a little over a year into the second Trump presidency. That second term began with the establishment of “The Department of Governmental Efficiency” (DOGE), a sustained campaign to discredit and undermine the usefulness and work of federal institutions and employees, and the issuance of multiple executive orders rescinding prior guidance on equity, including those related to federal affirmative action. The dismantling of entire federal agencies, alongside massive cuts in their capacity to make progress toward equity goals, swiftly followed (USAID, HHS, and the Department of Education are some of the most impacted agencies). During the summer of 2025, Republicans passed a spending bill that massively increased the size and scope of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while giving huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and making drastic budget cuts to social assistance programs.

Throughout this second term we’ve also seen a steady increase in white supremacist rhetoric and images coming from government officials: Agency-run social media accounts make appeals to the homeland, remigration, and other white nationalist dog-whistle phrases, while the president himself continues to demonize nonwhite immigrants and cities with large minority populations, and to mischaracterize the Civil Rights Movement as harmful to white people.

These actions and rhetoric are not simply poor governance; they follow a historical script that white supremacists in the United States have used for centuries to undermine progress toward equity. Each time, that script sets the stage for policy changes that lead to a massive increase in economic inequality. Here’s the pattern:

1. Establish distrust in progressive goals by raising the specter of racial minorities corrupting and taking advantage of a government that has “overstepped its authority.”
2. Severely curtail government functions by dismantling existing programs directed toward progressive policy goals (e.g., equity, poverty prevention) and allowing others to expire, halting forward progress.
3. Institute methods of targeting and controlling nonwhite populations, increasing economic insecurity, stoking fear, and lowering their political and economic power relative to white peers.

Consider what took place in the half-century following the Civil War, as the United States tried and failed to rebuild itself into a multiracial democracy for the first time:

1. Establish distrust: Disaffected ex-Confederates led campaigns of misinformation alleging that newly elected Black government officials were corrupt and undeserving, that the government itself had overreached by sending federal troops to ensure that Southern states followed the law with respect to racial inclusion, and that allowing Black men the vote presented an existential threat to white men, women, and children. In the West, white supremacists spread similar misinformation about Chinese immigrant workers.
2. Halt forward progress: Federal troops were removed from Southern states, exposing Black families to horrific acts of economic, social, and spiritual violence from white vigilantes; institutions like the Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank were dismantled and allowed to collapse, curtailing progress toward integrating Black families into the U.S economy with dignity.
3. Target and control nonwhite populations: White supremacists in government passed legislation limiting the economic, social, and political rights available to nonwhite Americans, most notably Jim Crow laws and the Chinese Exclusion Act. These policies led to significant economic precarity for nonwhite workers, allowing exploitative systems like sharecropping to thrive and ensuring railroad workers and miners had little recourse to protest poor working conditions.

This reassertion of white supremacy saw the government take a big step back from progressive goals and ushered in one of the most unequal and unstable ages of U.S. economic history: The Gilded Age.

For a more recent example, consider the 40-year-long backlash to racial progress made in the mid-20th century through the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement (beginning with the first Reagan administration in 1980):

1. Establish distrust: Disaffected conservatives employed an intellectual strategy (neoliberalism) designed to cast government as the source of America’s economic woes, rather than a tool that could be used to alleviate them. Neoliberalism recast the social safety net that had been designed to keep poor and working-class families, children, and the elderly out of poverty as a hammock in which lazy, undeserving Black people (especially single Black mothers) could comfortably take advantage of taxpayer dollars.
2. Halt forward progress: Citing the myth of an undeserving, perpetually dependent “underclass,” Republican and Democratic administrations alike took action. They made major cuts to programs designed to alleviate economic hardship, halting progress toward closing racial gaps in poverty because Black families are more likely to be impoverished. The federal government added strict work and income requirements to social programs like food stamps (SNAP) and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC, eventually replaced by the much less adequate TANF) that decreased their efficacy. The government stripped institutions devoted to enforcing and advancing civil rights like the EEOC and the Commission on Civil Rights of funds and reduced their scope.
3. Target and control nonwhite populations: Beginning in the 1970s the United States embarked on an unprecedented expansion of policing and the carceral state; the development of this mass incarceration led to an explosion of arrests, convictions, and crucially, imprisonment. Nonwhite men were and still are overwhelmingly the targets of this system, with Black incarceration rates six times higher than those of white people. Incarceration serves as a tool of economic stratification that renders Black and brown workers noncompetitive with white workers and severely limits the capacity of Black and brown families to accumulate wealth, alongside a host of other imposed disadvantages.

The wealthiest owners of capital used white supremacy to shape policy decisions such that they could capture a greater share of economic power and resources, influencing government to withdraw resources previously used to support and protect workers and families of all shades. This also set the stage for weakening labor standards, chipping away at workers’ rights to organize, allowing globalization to displace blue-collar workers, and influencing the Fed’s tolerance of excessive unemployment.

Further, as more of our national spending shifted toward law enforcement rather than social welfare, racial targeting increased, poverty was criminalized, and so too did a greater share of income go to the top percentile earners. Significant progress toward racial economic equity—little that there was—has all but ceased since the 1980s.

Figure A shows the raw deal that both Black and white workers have been given since the 1980s. While the workforce became around 84% more productive between 1979 and 2024, workers’ wages grew much more slowly. Typical white workers’ wages only grew 37% over the same period, while Black workers’ wages grew even more slowly at 28.5%.

Figure A

Figure B shows how racial wage inequality increased along with rising corporate power. The darker line here represents the extent to which workers’ productivity increased faster than their pay (the ratio of net productivity—or output per hour—to total compensation per hour); in other words, the extent to which employers were able to capture a greater share of economic output than workers. As the wage gap between typical Black and white workers increased (from 16.6% in 1979 to 21.6% in 2024, a growth rate of 30%), so too did the gap between productivity and pay (from 160% in 1979 to 227% in 2024, a growth rate of 42%). In this view, white supremacy works as a wedge by which the working class is separated, weakening worker power and allowing the productivity-pay gap to increase.

It took the labor market shock and reset of a global pandemic, and the rapid, expansionary policy response toward it, to finally break the decades-long trend of increasing Black-white wage inequality; the resulting tight labor market saw faster wage growth between 2019–2024 for low-wage workers (who are disproportionately Black and brown) than for any period since 1979, and a drop in the Black-white wage gap from its peak in 2018 at 26.4% to 21.6% in 2024. This relatively rapid reduction in Black-white income inequality provides important context for our current wave of white supremacist backlash.

Figure B

White supremacy has always been employed in the United States as a political economic strategy for maintaining social hierarchy. That hierarchy is consistent both with the assertion of white privilege and with corporate interests. The value in maintaining white supremacy for the interests of wealthy elites is that it complicates class solidarity across racial lines, while also pre-establishing a population of workers who exist along a spectrum of exploitation.

The most exploitable of these workers (e.g. Black, brown, women, and/or poor workers) have little to no recourse for protection nor serious prospects of changing their class position without explicit outside intervention, even across generations. Workers with more proximity to power (e.g. white, male, and/or high-income workers) have access to real social and material benefits that come from their relative position, and so are incentivized to maintain the status quo. Even still, these workers face exploitation and economic precarity as the truly wealthy continue to build capital, and their share of the nation’s income and wealth continues to rise.

The Trump administration’s motivations are clear when viewed through the lens of white supremacist political economy. This framing puts Project 2025 into its proper historical context as a recycled agenda designed to reassert the social and economic privileges of white Americans relative to their Black and brown neighbors, pacifying potential white opposition toward policies that will most enrich the few at their absolute expense. If this historical script is allowed to run its course—that is, if the administration is successful at establishing distrust in the efficacy of government, halting what forward progress we’ve made toward equity and progressive goals, and targeting and controlling nonwhite populations—the final act will be another massive increase in economic inequality and instability, a period in which most American families will suffer.

There is a path forward, however. Progress toward racial equity has always threatened consolidated class power, particularly in the United States. A working-class coalition across racial lines has historically been a dangerous prospect for those invested in maintaining inequality because it creates the possibility of a serious inversion of power, a realization that solidarity could genuinely result in a more equitable distribution of the costs and benefits of production. Building a genuine multiracial democracy in which people from all groups can expect to be treated with dignity and have access to the same economic security and opportunity is a real path toward breaking down inequality run rampant.

Here’s the bottom line. When we see:

• A concerted effort to discredit and defund the important work done by Black and brown women government employees to move us toward equity (Establish distrust)
• The tearing down of historic laws and institutions devoted to providing equal access to opportunity and security to all Americans (Halt forward progress)
• The terrorizing of nonwhite workers and their families in places of work and worship alike (Target and control nonwhite populations)

We must recognize these efforts as intentional ones that lead us all—white workers and their families included—down a path to greater economic inequality, instability, and injustice.

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports OMERS pension fund reports 6% gain as weak U.S. dollar dents investment returns:

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) gained 6 per cent on its investments in 2025, lagging its benchmark but earning positive returns across most its portfolio in what chief executive Blake Hutcheson called “one of the most difficult years in my career to invest.”

The pension fund manager’s annual performance was hampered by a weakening U.S. dollar, which dragged returns down by 1.3 percentage points, and poor performance from private equity investments, which lost 2.5 per cent.

All other asset classes had positive returns for the year, led by a stock portfolio that gained 12.3 per cent, as public markets surged largely on optimism about technology and artificial intelligence.

That market optimism was overshadowed by political turmoil and wars around the world, as well as the disorienting effect that shifting tariff policy has had on investors. The uncertainty stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist push affected currencies, interest rates and asset prices, “and frankly, it impacted our day-to-day decision making,” Mr. Hutcheson said in an interview.

“All I want to know is that I’ve got an environment where someone doesn’t wake up and break your jaw,” he added. “Why I think it’s difficult now is it’s just so unpredictable, the goalposts keep getting moved.”

OMERS fell short of its internal benchmark for returns, which was 7.5 per cent, though currency losses accounted for much of that gap and aren’t accounted for in the target. OMERS was able to offset a further 70 basis points of potential currency losses by hedging against fluctuations in the market.

“Given all that ... it’s an acceptable outcome,” Mr. Hutcheson said.

OMERS invests on behalf of nearly 665,000 Ontario public service workers at school boards, transit systems, electrical utilities and emergency services, among other employers. Its assets increased to $145.2-billion at the end of 2025, up from $138.2-billion a year earlier.

The plan has earned an average annual return of 7.7 per cent over the past five years, and 7.1 per cent over 10 years.

Even now, the United States is “not a market you would ignore,” accounting for 26 per cent of global economic output, and it will remain a big part of OMERS’s strategy, Mr. Hutcheson said. “Having said that, it’s a cautionary time.”

OMERS is looking at whether it can “pivot to Canada” for some of its deals at a pivotal moment for the country’s economy – as long as any potential transactions meet the bar for risk and return that guides the fund’s mandate.

“We want to do more in Canada,” where OMERS has a home-field advantage and a significant portfolio of real estate and other investments, he said. But infrastructure investment has been harder for the pension plans, with too few opportunities that they deem to be attractive.

“Actual opportunities have to be put on the table,” he said, and OMERS is “encouraged that those are on the horizon.”

OMERS’s global infrastructure portfolio gained 6 per cent last year.

In private equity, buyers and sellers are starting to be more realistic about what companies are worth, chief financial officer Jonathan Simmons said. But for deals to pick up, company profits need to start rising in a meaningful way, and interest rates need to stay low.

For private equity investors, “it was a very difficult year, let’s not kid ourselves on that front,” Mr. Hutcheson said, and a full recovery for the sector could take years. “This doesn’t turn on a dime.”

OMERS had stronger performance from its private credit book, which earned 8.3 per cent in 2025. More recently, stock prices for large private credit lenders have wobbled as U.S.-based Blue Owl Capital Inc. halted redemptions for one of its funds and sold a US$1.4-billion portfolio of loans to several pension funds, with OMERS reportedly one of them.

The fund declined to comment on Blue Owl’s sale, but said it has stuck to a strategy “to hold the pen on credit underwriting and not to give it away, and that is serving us well,” Mr. Simmons said.

OMERS improved from being 98-per-cent funded in 2024, based on projected payouts to pensioners, to 99 per cent at the end of last year. The plan expects to be fully funded soon, and to manage $200-billion of assets by 2030. 

Layan Odey of Bloomberg also reports OMERS earns 6% as stock gains offset losses from private equity, U.S. dollar:

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System returned six per cent last year after gains from stock holdings and private credit more than offset private equity losses and a weak dollar.

That brings its net assets to $145.2 billion last year, up from $138.2 billion in 2024, the pension said in a statement Monday.

“Volatile currency markets create challenges for many investors who invest abroad,” chief executive Blake Hutcheson said in the statement, adding that decisions to hedge currencies helped “limit the foreign exchange impact on our results to negative 1.3 per cent, driven mainly by the strong decline in the value of the U.S. dollar.”

Public equity holdings gained 12.3 per cent last year, while private credit and infrastructure delivered 8.3 per cent and six per cent returns, respectively. Investments in private equity lost 2.5 per cent, compared with a 9.5 per cent gain in 2024.

The pension plan has revamped its private equity group over the past two years, including hiring a new global head, halting direct buyouts in Europe and cutting a team focused on the asset class in Asia.

Earlier this month the private equity arm agreed to sell specialty care management company Paradigm to Patient Square Capital, and in December CBI Health, one of OMERS’ longstanding portfolio companies, agreed to sell its home-care business to Extendicare Inc. in December.

Omers said that it is “well-positioned” to invest in Canada and that it’s seeking “near-term opportunities in Canada that will support both our objectives and the country’s growth.” 

The Canadian Press also reports pension fund manager OMERS earned six per cent return for 2025:

TORONTO - Pension fund manager OMERS says it earned a six per cent return for 2025, helped by the strength of its public equities and private credit investments.

The Ontario fund manager says its net assets grew to $145.2 billion at Dec. 31, up from $138.2 billion a year earlier.

OMERS chief financial and strategy officer Jonathan Simmons says the portfolio generated steady performance against a backdrop of significant political and economic uncertainty, particularly around trade in 2025.

Simmons noted that six out of the fund’s seven investment asset classes delivered positive returns, led by a third year of double-digit returns from public equities and another strong year for private credit investments.

The pension plan’s smoothed funded status improved to 99 per cent, up from 98 per cent in 2024.

OMERS manages the defined-benefit pension fund for employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies across Ontario. 

Earlier today, OMERS released its 2025 results stating it earned an annual investment return of 6%, or $8.2 billion, net of expenses:

OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for Ontario’s broader municipal sector employees, earned a 2025 investment return of 6%, or $8.2 billion, net of expenses. Net assets grew from $138.2 billion at December 31, 2024 to $145.2 billion at December 31, 2025. The Plan’s smoothed funded status improved to 99%, from 98% in 2024, using a real discount rate of 3.70%. Over the past 10 years, OMERS has averaged an annual investment return of 7.1%, net of expenses, adding $73.9 billion to the Plan, and contributing significantly to improving the Plan’s funded status.

Steady progress in 2025

“OMERS performance in 2025 demonstrates the resilience of our plan amidst a turbulent market. Since becoming CEO, I have been proud to lead a team committed to delivering enduring value for our 665,000 members by maintaining a disciplined investment approach. Over the past five years, we have generated an average annual net return of 7.7%,” said Blake Hutcheson, OMERS President and CEO. “Our 2030 Strategy positions the Plan well for further success in the years ahead. We expect to have $200 billion in net assets by 2030, and will be more than 100% funded.”

OMERS is diversified by asset class and geography, and this broad asset base helps to insulate the Plan through the challenges that each market cycle brings. In any given year some asset classes will perform more strongly than others, depending on market and economic conditions.

“Our portfolio served us well in 2025 generating steady performance against the backdrop of significant political and economic uncertainty, particularly around trade. Despite this, six out of our seven investment asset classes delivered positive returns, led by a third year of double-digit returns from public equities and supported by another strong year for private credit investments,” said Jonathan Simmons, OMERS Chief Financial and Strategy Officer. “We continue to navigate a persistently challenging private equity market.”

“We are pleased to see a recovery in our real estate portfolio, with good performance in office and retail, as the industry emerges from several difficult years,” remarked Hutcheson. “Volatile currency markets create challenges for many investors who invest abroad. We are certainly not alone in facing this issue, particularly as it relates to the U.S. dollar. Active decisions to hedge currencies protected 70 basis points of our return for the year. This helped to limit the foreign exchange impact on our results to negative 1.3% driven mainly by the strong decline in the value of the U.S. dollar."

Ready to Invest More in Canada

OMERS is well-positioned to invest across geographies of focus, including in Canada where we expect new opportunities to emerge.

“This is a pivotal time in Canada. As a nation, we have a significant opportunity to build a stronger and more resilient future, and OMERS wants to be part of that. We are a proudly Canadian pension plan with a deep history of investing in our home market. We like the advantage that our relationships and on-the-ground expertise offer,” said Mr. Hutcheson. “Any transactions we might undertake will have to meet the high bar we set for managing the Plan on behalf of our members, but we aspire for near-term opportunities in Canada that will support both our objectives and the country’s growth.”

Building for the Future

Funded status is a key measure of the Plan’s long-term financial health.

“The improvement in OMERS smoothed funded status to 99% was attained while at the same time strengthening provisions to pay pensions by an additional $2.2 billion to reflect longer life expectancies,” said Simmons. “Canadians—including our members—are living longer and the Plan is ready to meet their retirement needs in the decades ahead.”

Our work continues to prioritize initiatives that safeguard future returns. OMERS is reporting a 65% reduction in its portfolio carbon emissions intensity relative to the 2019 baseline, and increased its green investments (as defined in the OMERS Climate Action Plan) to $26 billion.

Making an Impact

A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis found that OMERS 2025 activities in Ontario generated $15.3 billion in provincial GDP, supported more than 135,000 jobs, and positively impacted 1 in 11 households. Across our investments, pensions, and corporate teams, OMERS employees continue to look for ways to innovate and deliver on our pension promise with excellence.

“Our members, who work to keep our communities healthy and safe, face a world that feels more complex every year. Our job is to provide a stable source of retirement income that helps bring them peace of mind,” said Hutcheson. “We have built a Plan that sees through cycles, periods of uncertainty and decades of change. I am proud of the way our teams have invested with conviction, provided excellent service to our members, and provided promised pensions, on time and as planned, for almost 65 years.”

OMERS is highly rated across independent credit rating agencies, including ‘AAA’ ratings from S&P, Fitch, and DBRS.

About OMERS 

OMERS is a jointly sponsored, defined benefit pension plan, with more than 1,000 participating employers ranging from large cities to local agencies, and 665,000 active, deferred and retired members. Our members include union and non-union employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies across Ontario. OMERS teams work in Toronto, London, New York, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Singapore, Sydney and other major cities across North America and Europe – serving members and employers, and originating and managing a diversified portfolio of high-quality investments in government bonds, public and private credit, public and private equities, infrastructure and real estate.

Net Investment Returns for the years ended December 31

2025

2024

Government Bonds

2.9%

1.0%

Public Credit

3.9%

6.0%

Private Credit

8.3%

12.6%

Public Equities

12.3%

18.8%

Private Equities

-2.5%

9.5%

Infrastructure

6.0%

8.8%

Real Estate

5.1%

-4.9%

Total Net Return

6.0%

8.3%

Asset Mix

As at December 31, 2025

Assets by Geography

As at December 31, 2025

Investment Performance Highlights

Over the year ended December 31, 2025:

• Currency detracted 1.3% from our returns, particularly impacting public and private equity. The U.S. dollar depreciated against all other G7 countries in 2025, marking its worst annual performance in years, weakening almost 5% against the Canadian dollar over the year. Our active decisions to hedge our currency exposure protected 70 basis points of returns. This currency management strategy, combined with our diversification in the euro and British pound sterling, mitigated some of the negative U.S. dollar impact on the portfolio.

• Our ongoing strategy to allocate funds to fixed income contributed to our overall returns. Government bonds, public and private credit each delivered positive performance primarily due to interest income and a decline in bond yields.

• Public equities delivered double-digit performance from core large-cap holdings in information technology, communication services and financial sectors, with most other sectors contributing positively.

• Private equities continued to face a challenging market. Deal market activity was low and valuations continue to be impacted by slow earnings growth and headwinds within certain industry sectors.

• Infrastructure continues to deliver steady results. While the majority of our portfolio performed well, headwinds on select assets softened the asset class return.

• Real estate delivered a positive return after a series of challenging years for the industry. Results were supported by strong operating fundamentals, particularly in office and retail.
  

2025 Highlights

By the numbers

• 2025 investment return of 6%, or $8.2 billion, net of expenses

• $145.2 billion in net assets

• 10-year average annual net return of 7.1%

• 665,000 OMERS members

• 99% smoothed funded ratio

• 3.70% real discount rate

• $6.8 billion total pension benefits paid

• We are reporting a 65% reduction in the portfolio carbon emissions intensity, relative to 2019

• $26 billion in green investments (as defined in the OMERS Climate Action Plan)

• 97% OMERS member service satisfaction

• 99% Employer satisfaction

• 93% of employees are proud to work for OMERS and Oxford (+5 points above best-in-class)
  

Transactions in 2025

OMERS remains focused on deploying capital in line with our target asset mix. We are a disciplined investor in high-quality assets that meet the Plan’s risk and return requirements. Highlights of transactions made in 2025:

• Announced the acquisition of a Manchester industrial estate from Network Space Developments. This transaction was the first for the newly formed Oxford Properties and AustralianSuper joint venture.

• Completed offerings of EUR 1 billion, 10-year term note at a yield of 3.253% and USD 1 billion, 5-year term note at a yield of 4.434%.

• Participated in the Series B financing round for Float Financial, a finance platform for Canadian businesses.

• Acquired full ownership of a high-quality, $1.5 billion Western Canada office portfolio.

• Announced a transformative co-investment of over $200 million to retrofit the existing office buildings at Canada Square in midtown Toronto.

• Broke ground on the first major purpose-built housing project in Scarborough in over a generation. The development will consist of three residential towers of 1300 units with the aim of delivering critically needed housing, including a 21% allocation for affordable housing.

• Completed Canada’s largest co-op housing renewal project in Vancouver.

• Participated in a US$275-million private investment supporting Xanadu Quantum Technologies, a Toronto-based leader in photonic quantum computing.

• Completed the inaugural senior unsecured bond issuance for BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust (BGIT), the holding company for OMERS investment in Bruce Power. The offering totaled C$1.5 billion.

• Secured €770 million in new debt facilities at Borealis Spain Parent B.V., the holding company for OMERS ~25% stake in Exolum.

We rotate capital out of assets with the same level of discipline with which we invest. This activity generates capital, which we deploy into future investment opportunities that align to our strategy. Highlights of realizations announced or completed in 2025:

• Completed the sale of a 9.995 per cent stake in Australian electricity network firm Transgrid to the Future Fund Board of Guardians.

• Sold our stake in London City Airport.

• Announced the sale of CBI Health LP’s home care business to Paramed Inc – the closing of the transaction is expected to be completed in Q1 2026.

I had a chance to discuss OMERS' 2025 results with CEO Blake Hutcheson and CFO & CSO Jonathan Simmons earlier today so let me get right into it.

I want to begin by thanking both of them for taking the time to talk to me and also thank Don Peat for setting up the Teams meeting. 

Blake began by giving his his high level overview:

The punchline is 6%, we made $8.2 billion. We have about 3000 people, by the way, about about half and half Oxford and OMERS. And I often remind them that when you make $8.2B and in a good year, it's north of 10 with a small handful of people, they're all making a difference. And we have a great team in the country, and I'm proud of them. 

We had last year, quite honestly, it was one of the most difficult investment environments that we've ever that I've ever experienced and and the punchline for me is, as a business person and an investor, I don't ask for a head start. I didn't ask for a leg up. I don't I don't ask for anybody to give me an advantage. I just need to know the rules of the game. And if I know the rules of the game, you know, I, I we owners in Oxford, I like our odds to compete with the best of the best, and an environment where there's tariffs on, off, geopolitical, you know, shifts, not only in the US and Canada, but around the world. Most of our markets are having, you know, is Starmer going to make it? Who's the next? You know, President of France? Like all these markets, the geopolitical turmoil, the tariff turmoil, and the impact of, you know, policy decision making changing on a dime has been, has made it extraordinarily different, difficult, and it's it's hitting our currencies, it's hitting our equities, but most importantly, or notably, it hits our day to day decision making. You know, which you know, where do you allocate capital? Where do you hold back? Often, with partners, they may have a different view because, because they're getting confounded by the change the same way we do, some of our banks and counterparties may have a different view. 

And I just never seen an environment where you didn't have a predictable future. And as I often say, just don't break my jaw.And this has been a jaw-breaking environment for I think all of us as significant investors in a Canadian and global context, and given that background, I think our results demonstrated to us our resilience and our power of diversity. And so I'm not unhappy with the circumstances. 

Given that context as a long term player -- and you always hear us focus on the long term --  I genuinely, you know, try to ignore one year in a row. I pay a lot of attention to 3, 5 and 10 years in a row, and our 5-year average has been 7.7%t. I watched that one carefully, because we, you know, I came, I came here in 2020, our our 10 year return is 7.1%  and (over this period) we returned over $74 billion to the plan to to go straight to our funded status. Our 2-year average is 7.2% and I look at our funded status, we've come a long way from being low 8% funded 20 years ago to 99% this year, and and counting. And so we we even improved our funded status this year, which is positive, after making some significant changes to our liabilities, about a $2.2 billion more conservative liability adjustment. And so I'm, I'm hopeful that in a year or so, we will properly celebrate 100% funded status. 

And that's how we're measured. That's how we're judged. We look at our liabilities, we look at our direction of travel. And when we get 5% real, which translates into the seven plus that we've had for, you know, five and 10 years, when I looked at 2030 we'll have a significant push in over 100% funded status, and will have left OMERS in a much, much healthier state than how we found it not so long ago.

Six out of our seven asset classes were in the black. Our (public) equities team performed well, our credit team performed well, our Infra team performed well, our real estate business, and you've asked me this every year, has turned the corner. 

Our big difficulty, as you can see last year, was PE, and that is a symptom of many, many of the PE companies that you cover in a global context, the bid ask spreads were wide, the cost of money is still quite high. It's been an unpredictable environment for them to to invest in and aggregate and so no excuses. It's the work in progress for us, it is the one that was most painful for us to endure in 2025.

He went on to add:

The other notable for us is our plan benchmark was 7.5% this year. When we set those benchmarks, their currency agnostic, if we, if the US and Canadian currency had stayed flat, we would have been closer to 8%. 

We ended up with an protecting about 70 basis points or hedging strategies, but it still cost us 130 basis points, because we certainly aren't going back to a period where we edge 100% and so when I look at our operating plan, did people do what they were supposed to do? They did. Did currency have an impact that has been that prevented us from meeting that plan? 100%. And those things come and go from one year to the next. I'm not saying we can take it one year and blame it the next. Nonetheless, it was particularly difficult year to understand the direction of travel, given what what trends translated from the US and the US policies.

A couple more ideas. We remain 55% committed to the United States. We still believe, you know, they're 26% of the global GDP, their fiscal and monetary stimulus at this point in history is going to ensure that, at least for the foreseeable future, their markets are strong for most of the assets we invest in. Over time that exceptionalism may wane for all the reasons that we know, but for the short term, you know, we remain committed to lots of assets, lots of counterparties in that market, and we've got deep friendships there. Notwithstanding, when people read the headlines, they're Americans, are great friends, are great friends, and our great partners. 

But we want to do more in Canada. And we have, as you know, a significant portfolio here, sometimes with partners. But you know, Banff Springs, Shadow Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, Shadow Whistler, you know, Yorkdale Shopping Center, Square One, Scarborough Town Center, 20% of the office market A class product in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto. Bruce Powerr, the largest nuclear plant on the planet, 31% of the power supply for Ontario. Ontario land registry, city. System here, a little piece of the MLSE, as you know, you know, some really good PE businesses, some really good ventures investments. 

So we are, we're really committed to Canada, but we want to do more. And we're, we're encouraged when we look particularly at our infrastructure and and real estate, books and pipelines, that there's a lot of the offer there that we hope to get, get over the top, because we like the rule of law. We believe in this country.  

We believe in the future this country. We like a lot of the signs we're seeing as as you know, with this new government and the direction of travel with proper economic seeds getting planted for the first time in a long time. So I hope you'll read more in the future Leo that we're doing more in Canada. We're certainly seeing the prospects, and we're certainly committed to it. And maybe I stop there. 

I noted that most of the Maple 8 funds lost money on currency last year because they don't fully hedge or partially hedge and that's no big deal over the long run but sometimes in a pivotal year like 2025, it can cost you serious basis points.

Still, I'm a firm believer in US markets and the greenback over the long run so I don't put too much weight on a year like 2025 where the greenback slid for all sorts of reasons. 

I told Blake and Jonathan the only concern I had with OMERS results last year was what happened in private equity, was the -2.5% loss concentrated in one or two assets? What's Alexander Fraser (global head of PE) doing right now? Because everyone I'm seeing is shying away from purely direct investments where they own a controlling stake to invest and co-invest with top funds  because competition is ferocious and they need to maintain allocation and reduce fee drag.

Blake responded:

It's hard to turn a freighter on a dime. And our process in looking at our PE business started really a year and a half ago, where we said, let's look at the business plan, what am I great at, how do I get in the way of a trend given limited resources? And we still feel we can stand up and compete heavily in Canada, the United States, in the spaces that we've defined as areas of expertise in PE and we were very clear that in Europe, we didn't feel that we we had a team that could compete at the same level. 

We have a direction of travel to dispose of those assets, not in any fire sale way -- as you know, our balance sheet strong enough we never have to --  but over time, as it makes sense, and the money we liberate there goes back into funds, or fund like structures or co-invest structures. And so that takes time, and in the US, what we just found was that, you know, from a valuation perspective, there are very few data points, because the bid ask spreads so far that the market is softened. The things that did get traded, traded at lower multiples, and with the uncertainty that's being created from policy and tariff threats that we've all seen, it had an impact on values.

And to be perfectly honest, we have some really great asset, we have some good assets and we have some not so good assets in the in the 25 that we hold. And so, like any time in my life, the great assets hold their value, and the not so good ones, ultimately, the market catches up to them. So, some of that's gone through the river with us. 

So with Alexander, he's he is a bright guy. He's leading, getting his arms around it. We did take some writedowns. It wasn't, it wasn't one or two big ones. It was more incremental adjustments to try to get our portfolio to meet more with the market comps and environment that we're experiencing, and this is going to be a two or three year build for us. It's not it's not going to happen overnight. We will do more co-investment, we will do more funds, but we also have staged a team that in the verticals we're good at, we think we can compete very directly and competitively in North America. 

I asked Blake if they are accepting third-party assets in that asset class and he told me they only accept in infrastructure and real estate (where they have a lot... "Oxford has $40 billion in third party capital and Infra has some co-investment relationships").

I moved on to real estate noting Eric Pliesman has rejoined Oxford from HOOPP to be the CEO and President. i also noted even though commecial real estate delinquencies have risen in the US, REITs are on fire this year, Blackstone's Jon Gray is positive on the asset class, and it looks like things are looking up again.

Blake replied:

You know the story. I mean, Oxford averaged 12.5% returns for over 10 years from 2010, to 2020, we built a business there. There was a $17 billion domestic company, 7 billion of equity, 7 billion of debt, three of third party, and turned it into a now $85 billion business. 

It was primarily Canada. Now it's, you know, it's about 30% Canada, and it was primarily office and retail, and now it's got great diversification between retail and office and industrial and multifamily and hotels and credits. 

So I've always believed that Oxford is is one of the greater, one of the top five real estate businesses in the world, frankly And Covid hit, and we stepped in some bear traps during that period as a platform. 

The bear traps are behind us. The team's been changed. The go forward economics are favourable. Cap rates have stabilized, are coming down. The cost of money stabilized, coming down. And like any of these markets, I alluded to it a bit with private equity. I look at it as a K, and the top end of that K for great assets, their trajectory is so favourable, and the bottom end of that K for lower quality assets, it's not so favourable. It's going the wrong way. 

And the vast, vast majority of our book and Oxford is favourable. I think it has turned the corner. Real estate's become an 8% or 9% business, not a 12.5% business, for the foreseeable future. And you know this being in the black is an indication of what I've seen coming with the changes that Dan Fournier made over the last three years, where we had him there, we can see it turning the corner. 

We've taken our writedowns. We've got a great strategy and a great team back in place. So it took, it took us a few years to turn it and I it won't happen overnight, Leo, but this business is is on its way back, and it's going to remain a significant contributor to OMERS for the future. 

In Infrastructure, I noted what happened at Thames Water and said "I hate writing about Thames Water" but had to cover it. I asked them if they took the writedown there back in 2024 and how that portfolio is doing.

 Blake responded:

OMERS Infrastructure is $30 billion, 22% of our assets. Like Oxford, it's a it's an extraordinary business that we've we've built up for over 30 years, close to 40 years. And so, you know, I would put our team against any in the world to compete. We will, you know, when you have 30 children, and I tell this story often, Leo, Jonathan's laughing. I grew up on a street in my hometown where a family is...

LOL! I stopped him right there as I heard that stories at least five times (when you have a family of 10, one or two kids are superstars, 6 are average, 2 or 3 a problem makers).

Blake continued:

You are always going to have some of those good ones and not so good ones. So Thames Water was a good example. We're fighting through a couple others right now that that will be, you know, we are deeply focused on that are going to be, you know, we really got to nurse them through a difficult period and, and when you have a couple of those, and you know, if, 10% of your book is is causing a grief, that's probably the average.

Jonathan interjected: " And we have some great ones that no one wants to write stories about."

Blake added: "And many spectacular ones that there's no problem bragging about because no one wants to write about it." 

I said it reminds me of what my uncle, a devout Christian, once told me long ago: "You only read about pedophile priests in the news. The media never covers the thousands of priests all over world doing God's great work, helping the poor and disenfranchised, their sacrifices are largely ignored." 

Blake went on:

The delicacy with infrastructure is it also relies on consistent counterparties. both contracts and people's word, you know, and Thames Water, to be perfectly honest, was a regulator who didn't stand up to its obligations and and that's very difficult in the western democratic society. When that happens to you, and concessions in general require people's word meaning something. So it's a more delicate world today than what we grew up with. Having said that our word means something, our handshake means something, our portfolio has been built on these relationships. We continue to believe in infrastructure as a fitness and and we want to do more in this country.

On that point, I shared with Blake that I'm generally supportive of Mark Carney's government but I'm growing increasingly impatient on big projects and wondering when are they going to get the ball rolling in a meaningful way to privatize airports and other infrastructure assets. 

I asked Blake if there's anything he can share on the record and he replied:

I can say publicly, Leo that for the first time in many years, we are seeing genuine interest from both provincial and federal governments to finally move some things forward and I'm optimistic that that will take place. To your point, the proof will be in the pudding. And to your point, sooner is better than later, but I do remain optimistic and we're all having those conversations at a level that we haven't experienced in a long time. All right, so stay tuned. Okay.

Glad to hear this, it needs to get done sooner rather than later.

Next, I asked Jonathan what is going on in private credit where I noted events surrounding Blue Owl Capital and some people like John Graham warning that underwriting standards have become fast and loose in some corners of the private credit market. 

Jonathan replied:

Well, I'm not worried about OMERS. And the reason why I'm not worried about OMERS is our strategy is to hold the pen on every credit we underwrite ourselves, and not to invest through funds where others have control of that for us. That means that we apply our own underwriting standards. We do deal with some relationships with third parties who bring us transactions to look at, we evaluate them all ourselves, and we underwrite them to our standards. And so what I can tell you about our book is I'm very pleased with the quality that I see. We're pleased with the performance that we've had. We've been nudging up our allocations of capital into that book. But we do see issues out there in the market that, frankly, are impacting our book, but which are impacting others. And so, like you, we're reading and we're hearing about that, but I'm not worried for OMERS.

Blake added:

We really are disciplined about not adding a blank check within some four corners of an agreement, but rather doing our own due diligence and underwriting on every loan of substance and so far Leo, our delinquency and default record is is superior. And that really is encouraging. 

I ended by noting this:

I know you guys keep getting criticized about not investing enough in Canada, but we covered all that, those angles as well. I foresee you and rest of Maple 8 are going to get criticized for not beating the S&P 500 pr S&P TSX. And your response would be, we're not there to beat the S&P every year, we're there to meet the liabilities of our pensioners. Is that correct?  

Blake responded:

Thank you. And our plan, which you've also heard me say multiple times, is 1,2,3,4,5. Between now and 2030, our ambition is to be 100% plus a cushion funded. Our $150 billion, roughly, will be $200 billion of equity. Three stands for three continents, very prescriptive strategies. If we can't be great at something, we don't go there. Four for $400 billion plus of AUM. We are moving fast approaching half a trillion dollar enterprise between now and 2030. And to your final point, five stands for a 5% real which we've been able to deliver for five and 10 years, respectively. And when you look through and go back to the first objective, we will be significant. We will have a significant cushion in our funded status by delivering a 5% real, and we're measured by bridging that gap and giving our pensioners some optionality and a big cushion, not by some other metrics or some other, you know, abstract number that doesn't pertain to our known liabilities. So that's the that's the message.

Great way to end our discussion. 

Once again, I thank Blake and Jonathan for a great discussion and Don for setting it all up.

Below, worry in the private credit market continued Monday after Blue Owl last week permanently closed one of its tech-focused funds — preventing investors from withdrawing their cash every three months as they’d previously been allowed. The firm began selling assets to return investor capital. 

It’s the latest sign of tumult in a $1.8 trillion market stricken with worry about overspending on artificial intelligence, the technology’s disruptive power and lending standards more broadly. And it’s evoking comparisons to the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Bloomberg News Senior Editor for Credit James Crombie joins Bloomberg Businessweek Daily to discuss. He speaks with Carol Massar and Emily Graffeo.

Sean Conlon and Pia Sing of CNBC report S&P 500 rises, Dow gains 200 points after Supreme Court strikes down Trump emergency tariffs:

Stocks rose on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, potentially providing relief for companies burdened by higher costs from the duties and easing concern about sticky inflation still plaguing the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.69% and closed at 6,909.51, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% and settled at 22,886.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 230.81 points, or 0.47%, and ended at 49,625.97. The 30-stock index recovered from a 200-point loss earlier in the session on disappointing economic data.

The Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s sweeping tariff policy under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, with the majority ruling that that law “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.” In response, Trump announced he will impose a new 10% “global tariff.”

“Now I’m going to go in a different direction, probably the direction that I should have gone the first time,” the president said during a press briefing at the White House after the high court’s decision. “I’ll go the way I could have gone originally, which is even stronger than our original choice.”

Shares of “Magnificent Seven” member Amazon — a company that sources up to 70% of its goods from China, per Wedbush Securities, and that has already begun to see tariffs impact the price of certain items — jumped more than 2% following the ruling. Others believed to benefit from the outcome were higher as well, such as Home Depot and Five Below.

“In the case of Amazon specifically, a lot of their stuff is imported from China, so tariffs are going to make the prices on Amazon go up for customers, and when prices go up, people buy fewer of those things,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “No longer facing that problem is the source of excitement, I think.”

While the Supreme Court’s rebuke was largely expected by Wall Street, some questions remain, however, including whether tariffs that have been paid under the steeper rates will need to be given back. The Supreme Court ruling was silent on the matter.

“Now lower courts are going to have to figure out what’s going to happen to people who paid the tariffs and the government paying out big refunds,” said FBB Capital Partners senior research analyst and asset allocation strategist Michael Brenner. “If that’s out there, that would be effectively a form of economic stimulus.”

Earlier in the day, traders received a downbeat view on growth of the U.S. economy, as gross domestic product increased 1.4% for the fourth quarter. That was far below the 2.5% gain that economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated. The 4.4% advance in the third quarter sharply surpassed estimates.

The record-breaking government shutdown is largely to blame, according to the Commerce Department. That stoppage, which took place through the first half of the fourth quarter, took off around 1 percentage point from economic growth, the department estimated.

In addition to the GDP data, the personal consumption expenditures price index report — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — showed that inflation held steady in December. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PCE came in at 3%, in line with expectations but still well above the Fed’s 2% target.

With Friday’s move, the Dow rose 0.3% on the week. The S&P 500 gained 1.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq snapped a five-week losing streak, climbing 1.5%.

Cybersecurity stocks drop after Anthropic’s announces security tool

Leading cybersecurity stocks dropped on Friday as fears grew about intensifying competition from Anthropic’s new tool. The company’s new Claude Code Security tool is capable of finding software bugs and suggesting fixes.

CrowdStrike shares dropped about 8%, while Okta lost 9.2%. Zscaler declined nearly 5.5%.

Security, cloud companies are S&P 500′s worst performers on Friday 

The S&P 500′s worst-performing stocks on Friday were security and cloud-based companies — namely Akamai Technologies, CrowdStrike and Oracle, in that order.

Shares of Akamai plunged nearly 13.5% after the cybersecurity and cloud computing company provided disappointing first-quarter guidance. Akamai said it sees first-quarter adjusted earnings ranging between $1.50 and $1.67 per share, which is significantly lower than the $1.75 per share consensus estimate from analysts polled by LSEG.

CrowdStrike and Oracle were down 8% and 6%, respectively, extending their dramatic slides this year amid a broader reckoning in the tech sector. Many big-name software companies, including Cloudflare, also dropped in the regular session.

Rian Howlett , Karen Friar and Ines Ferré of Yahoo Finance report Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq jump to post weekly gains as Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs:

US stocks rose on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump's most sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs are unlawful, saying he lacked the authority to impose them using emergency powers.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose almost 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained roughly 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led gains, up nearly 0.9%. All three major averages posted weekly gains.

Stocks reversed course on the heels of the decision as investors kept an eye out for US-Iran tensions and private credit jitters.

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday morning that Trump overstepped his powers in invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on several trading partners in April.

In response, President Trump said in a press conference that his administration will be placing a "10% global tariff" to replace the duties struck down by the high court.

Wall Street learned earlier Friday that US GDP grew more slowly than expected in the fourth quarter, coming in at 1.4%, far behind forecasts. Meanwhile, the "core" personal expenditures index — Fed rate-setters' preferred gauge of inflation — rose more than expected in December, on a monthly and annual basis.

The watch is on for signs of stress in the private credit sector, after Blue Owl's (OBDC, OWL) halt to withdrawals. Fears are the move is a "canary in the coal mine" financial crisis-style moment amid concerns about the sector's holdings of software stocks threatened by AI.

Meanwhile Bloomberg reports that Blue Owl sold private loans to pension giants, including Canadian pensions and its own insurer:

(Bloomberg) — Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL), facing a looming deadline to return cash in one of its private credit funds, found four buyers for a $1.4 billion portfolio of loans to help pay out investors: Three of North America’s biggest pension funds and its own insurance firm.

Chicago-based insurer Kuvare — along with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. — bought the debt, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Blue Owl said late Wednesday that it sold the loans at 99.7% of par value.

The sale of the loans was evenly spread across three funds and was part of a plan to return cash to investors in the firm’s Blue Owl Capital Corp II, which was hit with a wave of redemptions last year. The initial plan to return capital, by merging the fund with one of the firm’s publicly traded vehicles, was scrapped amid scrutiny around losses that some investors would take.

Blue Owl didn’t identify the buyers of the loans, saying only that they included North American public pension funds and insurance firms. 

Alright, that time of the quarter to peek into the portfolios of the world's most famous money managers with a 45-day lag. 

Before I get to that, however, let's look at market movers today starting with the best performing US large cap stocks:

 

Now, there's a reason why I circled Corning (GLW) and Ciena (CIEN), they're up 51% and 39% respectively over the past month and they have both taken off this year, literally:

 

Now, I wouldn't go chasing them here but it's a great example of how stocks making a new high, keep making a new high.

And if you look at the top institutional holders of Corning and Ciena, it's the mammoth indexers and large asset managers that own the lion's share although elite hedge funds also own them but you have to dig deep.

What's my point? The market is continuously moving, there are always winners and losers, pay attention to which stocks are making new highs, that's where the strength lies and you have a better chance making money there than trying to pick losers hoping for a reversal. 

What about Mag-7, hyperscalers, software stocks? I wrote on Monday that I think AI disruption fears are overdone but I have to admit, there is so much technical damage in many tech names that it can take a long time for things to turn back up in a robust way because every pop is met with tons of selling pressure.

And it's not just Mag-7 or software, today it was cybersecurity and clod companies that got whacked hard.

When the tide turns, it can last for a while so you need to proceed cautiously and not try to be a hero picking a bottom. 

It shouldn't surprise anyone that the S&P equal weight ETF (RSP) is outperforming the S&P ETF (SPY) this year by a wide margin (500+ basis points) given tech makes up 37% of the latter.

In fact, year-to-date, Financials (-4.5%), Information technology (-3.5%) and Consumer Discretionary (-3.4%) have been the worst performers while Energy (+22%) and Materials (+16%), Industrials (+14%) and Staples (=13%) have been the best performers (not total return, only price performance below) :

In a way this is a good thing, rotation is favouring non-tech and financial names and that means more dispersion and more opportunities for active managers to beat the index.

If this continues throughout 2026, it will be a lacklustre year for tech and financials and favour all other sectors -- IF IT CONTINUES. 

Top Funds' Activity in Q4 2025

Alright, I admit, I'm rambling here and need to get to top funds' activity but my point is you need to be aware what is going on in the markets real time, you need to be careful here because picking losers waiting for a reversal will cost you big returns.

That's not to say there aren't opportunities in picking stocks that are down, I recently traded Reddit and made decent returns and I missed taring CoreWeave twice this quarter (argh!).

But the name of the game in this environment for me is make money, sweep the table and try to survive if a major crisis erupts. 

Easier said than done but any elite hedge fund trader will tell you the same thing, these aren't markets to try to be a hero and catch a bottom in tech!

Again, there's clearly a rotation going on out of tech this quarter.

It doesn't mean this will be the dominant theme all year but it might be, we don't know and as long at it is, you stay long the S&P Equal Weight ETF (RSP) and you always pay attention where there strength lies, in which sectors and which stocks.

Capiche?

Alright, 13Fs, what are Druckenmiller, Dalio, Tepper, & NVIDIA buying?:

13F Season is Here

A 13F disclosure is a quarterly report that institutional investors with $100 million or more in assets under management (AUM) must file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each quarter. 13F filings give investors a rare glimpse into what the smartest, largest, and most successful investors are investing their money in. Included in the 13F report is the name of the security, the type of security (for example, call option or equity), the number of shares or contracts held, the fair market value of the position, and the percentage of portfolio the position comprises.

These reports are required to be filed within 45 days of the end of each calendar quarter. The deadline for Q4 2025 was Tuesday, February 17th, meaning that all the big investors have filed their 13F reports. While 13Fs can represent “stale data” they can provide investors with valuable transparency and an idea of what the big institutional investors are seeing. With the AI boom in full swing and the fastest-growing industry on Wall Street, I will focus today’s commentary on five of the most interesting AI-related purchases by Wall Street juggernauts, including

Druckenmiller Buys Bloom Energy (BE)

Stanley Druckenmiller is known as the most consistent big money manager on Wall Street. Shortly after the release of ChatGPT, Druckenmiller purchased Nvidia (NVDA), making billions of dollars on the trade. Later, he scored wins in other AI-related firms like Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). According to his latest 13F, Druckenmiller is making a $64 million bet on Bloom Energy (BE).

The bet makes sense. With AI data center demand accelerating exponentially, energy will need to follow suit. Bloom Energy helpds big tech companies power their data centers through its technology that converts fuelse such as natural gas and hydrogen into reliable electricity without combustion, offering high efficiency and low emissions.

Dalio Believes in Large Cap Tech

Lately, Ray Dalio has voiced concern over the fiscal deficit situation in America. However, that’s not stopping him from betting on the AI revolution. In Q4, Dalio’s Bridgewater added:

·       $695M NVDA

·       $487M Alphabet (GOOGL).

·       $395M Microsoft (MSFT)

·       $388M Amazon (AMZN)

NVDIA Bets on Intel Turnaround

Late last year, Nvidia announced a strategic, multi-year partnership and $5 billion investment in Intel (INTC). Last quarter, Nvidia added to its bet. 50.30% of NVDA’s investment portfolio is currently in INTC.

BlackRock Bets on AI Infrastructure Through Nebius

BlackRock (BLK), the largest money manager in the world, just disclosed a Nebius (NBIS) position worth $800 million, representing a 39.418% increase quarter-over-quarter. Typically, massive institutional investors like BlackRock don’t make one purchase but instead acquire shares over months and years. Read more about why Nebius is a top infrastructure play here.

Tepper Doubles Micron Position

David Tepper is best-known for making concentrated, high-conviction bets that payoff (like his purchase of banks in the wake of the global financial crisis). In Q4, Tepper doubled his position in Micron (MU), betting that the AI-driven memory chip shortage will continue.

Bottom Line

While 13F filings represent a snapshot of the past, they remain an essential tool to monitoring the smart money. As the AI revolution continues to accelerates, these disclosures provide a roadmap for investors looking to align their portfolio with the world’s most successful investors.

There are a lot more articles here which go over 13Fs this week.

Listen, between you and me, take all these articles with a pinch of salt, things are moving so fast in the market, you don't know what they are doing this quarter.

Having said this, no doubt about it, some stocks like memory chip stocks (Micron, Sandisk, Seagate, Western Digital, etc) are hot because prices are skyrocketing.   

It doesn't surprise me elite hedge funds are playing this trend (Tepper always trades Micron, for example). 

Ok, let me wrap this up, time to enjoy my weekend. 

The links below take you straight to the top holdings of top money managers and then click to see where they increased and decreased their holdings.

Top multi-strategy, event driven hedge funds and large hedge fund managers

As the name implies, these hedge funds invest across a wide variety of hedge fund strategies like L/S Equity, L/S credit, global macro, convertible arbitrage, risk arbitrage, volatility arbitrage, merger arbitrage, distressed debt and statistical pair trading. Below are links to the holdings of some top multi-strategy hedge funds I track closely:

1) Appaloosa LP (David Tepper)

2) Citadel Advisors (Ken Griffin)

3) Balyasny Asset Management

4) Point72 Asset Management (Steve Cohen)

5) Millennium Management (Izzy Englander)

6) Farallon Capital Management

7) Shonfeld Strategic Partners 

8) Walleye Capital 

9) Verition Fund Management 

10) Peak6 Investments

11) Kingdon Capital Management

12) HBK Investments

13) Highbridge Capital Management

14) Highland Capital Management

15) Hudson Bay Capital Management

16) Pentwater Capital Management

17) Sculptor Capital Management (formerly known as Och-Ziff Capital Management)

18) ExodusPoint Capital Management

19) Carlson Capital Management

20) Magnetar Capital

21) Whitebox Advisors

22) QVT Financial 

23) Paloma Partners

24) Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors

25) York Capital Management

Top Global Macro Hedge Funds and Family Offices

These hedge funds gained notoriety because of George Soros, arguably the best and most famous hedge fund manager. Global macros typically invest across fixed income, currency, commodity and equity markets.

George Soros, Carl Icahn, Stanley Druckenmiller, Julian Robertson  have converted their hedge funds into family offices to manage their own money.

1) Soros Fund Management

2) Icahn Associates

3) Duquesne Family Office (Stanley Druckenmiller)

4) Bridgewater Associates

5) Pointstate Capital Partners 

6) Caxton Associates (Bruce Kovner)

7) Tudor Investment Corporation (Paul Tudor Jones)

8) Discovery Capital Management (Rob Citrone)

9) Moore Capital Management

10) Rokos Capital Management

11) Element Capital

12) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust (Michael Larson, the man behind Gates)

Top Quant and Market Neutral Hedge Funds

These funds use sophisticated mathematical algorithms to make their returns, typically using high-frequency models so they churn their portfolios often. A few of them have outstanding long-term track records and many believe quants are taking over the world. They typically only hire PhDs in mathematics, physics and computer science to develop their algorithms. Market neutral funds will engage in pair trading to remove market beta. Some are large asset managers that specialize in factor investing.

1) Alyeska Investment Group

2) Renaissance Technologies

3) DE Shaw & Co.

4) Two Sigma Investments

5) Cubist Systematic Strategies (a quant division of Point72)

6) Man Group

7) Analytic Investors

8) AQR Capital Management

9) Dimensional Fund Advisors

10) Quantitative Investment Management

11) Oxford Asset Management

12) PDT Partners

13) TPG Angelo Gordon

14) Quantitative Systematic Strategies

15) Quantitative Investment Management

16) Bayesian Capital Management

17) SABA Capital Management

18) Quadrature Capital

19) Simplex Trading

Top Deep Value, Activist, Growth at a Reasonable Price, Event Driven and Distressed Debt Funds

These are among the top long-only funds that everyone tracks. They include funds run by legendary investors like Warren Buffet, Seth Klarman, Ron Baron and Ken Fisher. Activist investors like to make investments in companies where management lacks the proper incentives to maximize shareholder value. They differ from traditional L/S hedge funds by having a more concentrated portfolio. Distressed debt funds typically invest in debt of a company but sometimes take equity positions.

1) Abrams Capital Management (the one-man wealth machine)

2) Berkshire Hathaway

3) TCI Fund Management

4) Baron Partners Fund (click here to view other Baron funds)

5) BHR Capital

6) Fisher Asset Management

7) Baupost Group

8) Fairfax Financial Holdings

9) Fairholme Capital

10) Gotham Asset Management

11) Fir Tree Partners

12) Elliott Investment Management (Paul Singer)

13) Jana Partners

14) Miller Value Partners (Bill Miller)

15) Highfields Capital Management

16) Eminence Capital

17) Pershing Square Capital Management

18) New Mountain Vantage  Advisers

19) Atlantic Investment Management

20) Polaris Capital Management

21) Third Point

22) Marcato Capital Management

23) Glenview Capital Management

24) Apollo Management

25) Avenue Capital

26) Armistice Capital

27) Blue Harbor Group

28) Brigade Capital Management

29) Caspian Capital

30) Kerrisdale Advisers

31) Knighthead Capital Management

32) Relational Investors

33) Roystone Capital Management

34) Scopia Capital Management

35) Schneider Capital Management

36) ValueAct Capital

37) Vulcan Value Partners

38) Okumus Fund Management

39) Eagle Capital Management

40) Sasco Capital

41) Lyrical Asset Management

42) Gabelli Funds

43) Brave Warrior Advisors

44) Matrix Asset Advisors

45) Jet Capital

46) Conatus Capital Management

47) Starboard Value

48) Pzena Investment Management

49) Trian Fund Management

50) Oaktree Capital Management

51) Fayez Sarofim & Co 

52) Southeastern Asset Management 

Top Long/Short Hedge Funds

These hedge funds go long shares they think will rise in value and short those they think will fall. Along with global macro funds, they command the bulk of hedge fund assets. There are many L/S funds but here is a small sample of some well-known funds.

1) Adage Capital Management

2) Viking Global Investors

3) Greenlight Capital

4) Maverick Capital

5) Pointstate Capital Partners 

6) Marathon Asset Management

7) Tiger Global Management (Chase Coleman)

8) Coatue Management

9) D1 Capital Partners

10) Artis Capital Management

11) Fox Point Capital Management

12) Jabre Capital Partners

13) Lone Pine Capital

14) Paulson & Co.

15) Bronson Point Management

16) Hoplite Capital Management

17) LSV Asset Management

18) Hussman Strategic Advisors

19) Cantillon Capital Management

20) Brookside Capital Management

21) Blue Ridge Capital

22) Iridian Asset Management

23) Clough Capital Partners

24) GLG Partners LP

25) Cadence Capital Management

26) Honeycomb Asset Management

27) New Mountain Vantage

28) Penserra Capital Management

29) Eminence Capital

30) Steadfast Capital Management

31) Brookside Capital Management

32) PAR Capital Capital Management

33) Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co

34) Brahman Capital

35) Bridger Management 

36) Kensico Capital Management

37) Kynikos Associates

38) Soroban Capital Partners

39) Passport Capital

40) Pennant Capital Management

41) Mason Capital Management

42) Tide Point Capital Management

43) Sirios Capital Management 

44) Hayman Capital Management

45) Highside Capital Management

46) Tremblant Capital Group

47) Decade Capital Management

48) Suvretta Capital Management

49) Bloom Tree Partners

50) Cadian Capital Management

51) Matrix Capital Management

52) Senvest Partners

53) Falcon Edge Capital Management

54) Park West Asset Management

55) Melvin Capital Partners (Plotkin shut down Melvin after reeling rom Redditor attack)

56) Owl Creek Asset Management

57) Portolan Capital Management

58) Proxima Capital Management

59) Tourbillon Capital Partners

60) Impala Asset Management

61) Valinor Management

62) Marshall Wace

63) Light Street Capital Management

64) Rock Springs Capital Management

65) Rubric Capital Management

66) Whale Rock Capital

67) Skye Global Management

68) York Capital Management

69) Zweig-Dimenna Associates

Top Sector and Specialized Funds

I like tracking activity funds that specialize in real estate, biotech, healthcare, retail and other sectors like mid, small and micro caps. Here are some funds worth tracking closely.

1) Avoro Capital Advisors (formerly Venbio Select Advisors)

2) Baker Brothers Advisors

3) Perceptive Advisors

4) RTW Investments

5) Healthcor Management

6) Orbimed Advisors

7) Deerfield Management

8) BB Biotech AG

9) Birchview Capital

10) Ghost Tree Capital

11) Soleus Capital Management

12) Oracle Investment Management

13) Palo Alto Investors

14) Consonance Capital Management

15) Camber Capital Management

16) Redmile Group

17) Casdin Capital

18) Bridger Capital Management

19) Boxer Capital

20) Omega Fund Management

21) Bridgeway Capital Management

22) Cohen & Steers

23) Cardinal Capital Management

24) Munder Capital Management

25) Diamondhill Capital Management 

26) Cortina Asset Management

27) Geneva Capital Management

28) Criterion Capital Management

29) Daruma Capital Management

30) 12 West Capital Management

31) RA Capital Management

32) Sarissa Capital Management

33) Rock Springs Capital Management

34) Senzar Asset Management

35) Paradigm Biocapital Advisors

36) Sphera Funds

37) Tang Capital Management

38) Thomson Horstmann & Bryant

39) Ecor1 Capital

40) Opaleye Management

41) NEA Management Company

42) Sofinnova Investments 

43) Great Point Partners

44) Tekla Capital Management

45) Van Berkom and Associates

Mutual Funds and Asset Managers

Mutual funds and large asset managers are not hedge funds but their sheer size makes them important players. Some asset managers have excellent track records. Below, are a few funds investors track closely.

1) Fidelity

2) BlackRock Inc

3) Wellington Management

4) AQR Capital Management

5) Sands Capital Management

6) Brookfield Asset Management

7) Dodge & Cox

8) Eaton Vance Management

9) Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.

10) Geode Capital Management

11) Goldman Sachs Group

12) JP Morgan Chase & Co.

13) Morgan Stanley

14) Manulife Asset Management

15) UBS Asset Management

16) Barclays Global Investor

17) Epoch Investment Partners

18) Thornburg Investment Management

19) Kornitzer Capital Management

20) Batterymarch Financial Management

21) Tocqueville Asset Management

22) Neuberger Berman

23) Winslow Capital Management

24) Herndon Capital Management

25) Artisan Partners

26) Great West Life Insurance Management

27) Lazard Asset Management 

28) Janus Capital Management

29) Franklin Resources

30) Capital Research Global Investors

31) T. Rowe Price

32) First Eagle Investment Management

33) Frontier Capital Management

34) Akre Capital Management

35) Brandywine Global

36) Brown Capital Management

37) Victory Capital Management

38) Orbis Allan Gray

39) Ariel Investments 

40) ARK Investment Management

Canadian Asset Managers

Here are a few Canadian funds I track closely:

1) Addenda Capital

2) Letko, Brosseau and Associates

3) Fiera Capital Corporation

4) West Face Capital

5) Hexavest

6) 1832 Asset Management

7) Jarislowsky, Fraser

8) Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management

9) TD Asset Management

10) CIBC Asset Management

11) Beutel, Goodman & Co

12) Greystone Managed Investments

13) Mackenzie Financial Corporation

14) Great West Life Assurance Co

15) Guardian Capital

16) Scotia Capital

17) AGF Investments

18) Montrusco Bolton

19) CI Investments

20) Venator Capital Management

21) Van Berkom and Associates

22) Formula Growth

23) Hillsdale Investment Management

Pension Funds, Endowment Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Fed's Swiss Surrogate

Last but not least, I the track activity of some pension funds, endowment, sovereign wealth funds and the Swiss National Bank (aka the Fed's Swiss surrogate). Below, a sample of the funds I track closely:

1) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMco)

2) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

3) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

4) Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

5) OMERS Administration Corp.

6) Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

7) British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

8) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)

9) PGGM Investments

10) APG All Pensions Group

11) California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)

12) California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)

13) New York State Common Fund

14) New York State Teachers Retirement System

15) State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

16) State of Wisconsin Investment Board

17) State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund

18) Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

19) STRS Ohio

20) Teacher Retirement System of Texas

21) Virginia Retirement Systems

22) TIAA CREF investment Management

23) Harvard Management Co.

24) Norges Bank

25) Nordea Investment Management

26) Korea Investment Corp.

27) Singapore Temasek Holdings 

28) Yale Endowment Fund

29) Swiss National Bank (aka, the Fed's Swiss surrogate)

Below, From Warren Buffett to Bill Ackman, Bloomberg’s Hema Parmar breaks down what the latest 13F filings reveal about where big money managers are placing their bets — and what it means for Big Tech. Interview occurred on February 18, 2026. 

This video is only available here. 

Also, CNBC’s Pippa Stevens reports on news regarding Berkshire Hathaway.

Third, Tom Lee, Fundstrat and Bitmine, joins 'Closing Bell' to talk the state of the markets and large themes moving stocks in the final hour of trading.

Tom Lee also joined CNBC’s The Exchange with Kelly Evans to break down the market impact of the Supreme Court’s decision and what it could mean for investors.

From sanitation workers in Philadelphia to Boeing machinists in Missouri to nurses in California, thousands of workers across the country went on strike last year to demand higher pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that 306,800 workers were involved in 30 major work stoppages in 2025, a 13% increase from 2024. This is likely an undercount of strike activity given data limitations. However, the number of workers involved in major strikes remains elevated compared with the strike activity that occurred in the early 2000s (see Figure A).

Figure A

Most major work stoppages in 2025 (17) took place in the public sector. Six involved workers at public colleges and universities, including a five-day strike involving 1,400 custodial, maintenance, and services workers at the University of Minnesota where the Teamsters secured higher wage increases and other concessions. Public administration had five major work stoppages and the health care sector had four major work stoppages.

Thirteen major work stoppages took place in the private sector. Seven involved health care workers, including a historic 46-day strike involving 5,000 nurses at Providence Hospitals where the Oregon Nurses Association secured substantial wage increases, better staffing plans for patient care, and guaranteed pay for missed breaks or meals. Manufacturing and retail trade had two major work stoppages each.

Major work stoppages took place in 15 states across the U.S. in 2025. The five states with the most stoppages were California (18), Washington (3), Colorado (2), Illinois (2), and Oregon (2). Some strikes took place across state lines: For example, the five-month strike involving 3,200 Boeing machinists occurred in both Missouri and Illinois where the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers secured a 24% general wage increase during the length of the contract.  

As noted above, there are limitations to the BLS data, which only include information on work stoppages (both strikes and lockouts) involving 1,000 or more workers and lasting one full work shift between Monday–Friday, excluding federal holidays. For example, the 2025 data did not capture a four-day strike involving 580 hockey players and the East Coast Hockey League because it didn’t meet the size limitations.

Given that a majority (58%) of private-sector workers are employed by firms with fewer than 1,000 employees, these size and duration limits mean that BLS is not capturing many workers who walked off the job in 2025. While BLS shows 30 major work stoppages in 2025, Cornell’s Labor Action Tracker reports 303 work stoppages—298 strikes and 5 lockouts.

Policymakers should strengthen workers’ right to strike

Strikes are a powerful tool that workers can use to rectify the imbalance of bargaining power in the labor market. At a time when affordability and rising income inequality are at the front of workers’ minds, strikes can provide critical leverage to win wage gains, maintain and expand benefits, and improve working conditions. The National Labor Relations Act provides most private-sector workers, whether they are in a union or not, the right to strike. However, bad National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Supreme Court decisions have eroded this right over time. For example, in NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., the Supreme Court ruled that employers can legally hire permanent replacements for striking workers in some cases.

There is no federal law that gives public-sector workers the right to strike, but a dozen states have extended this right to some state and local government workers. Even with these limitations, thousands of workers across the country and across sectors went on strike to demand fair pay and improved working conditions.

Policymakers—on the federal and state level—should pass laws that strengthen workers’ right to strike. Congress should pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which strengthens private-sector workers’ right to strike by eliminating the prohibition on secondary strikes, allowing the use of intermittent strikes, and prohibiting employers from permanently replacing striking workers. Congress should also pass the Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare Protection Act, which would prevent employers from cutting off workers’ health care as a form of retaliation, and the Food Secure Strikers Act, which would allow striking workers to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

State lawmakers should extend full collective bargaining rights, including the right to strike, to all public-sector workers. State lawmakers should also join New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington state in making striking workers eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

OMERS released a press release stating its economic contribution to Ontario grows to $15.3 billion, delivering stability and social value for members and communities:

OMERS latest economic and social value analysis reveals that pensions do far more than support retirees; they fuel local economies, drive job creation, and provide lasting stability for communities across Ontario.

New data from the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) shows OMERS added $15.3 billion to Ontario’s GDP in 2025 and its activities benefitted 1 in 11 households, confirming its importance to the province’s economy. The research into the social value generated across Ontario by OMERS in 2025 – a year marked by global economic uncertainty - demonstrates the meaningful positive impact delivered to Plan members and their communities.

With more than 665,000 members, OMERS continues to deliver strong economic value through the spending of pension benefits, ongoing operations, and investments in communities across the province.

“OMERS is a powerful economic engine for Ontario,” said Jonathan Simmons, OMERS Chief Financial and Strategy Officer. “In 2025 alone, our activities generated billions in GDP and helped support more than 135,000 jobs across the province. These results underscore how pensions don’t just support retirees—they help strengthen local economies, create jobs, and provide a stable foundation.”

Beyond its economic impact, the research highlights the growing social value of OMERS defined benefit pension, particularly in today’s challenging economic environment.

CANCEA’s social value survey found that OMERS retirees report significantly high levels of life satisfaction, financial security, and overall well‑being, a difference researchers describe as the “stability dividend.”

“Every month, OMERS pensions reach communities across Ontario, providing reliable income that retirees can count on,” said OMERS Chief Pension Officer Celine Chiovitti. “This report demonstrates just how meaningful that stability is, not only for our members, but for the local businesses, services and communities they support. These findings reaffirm the value of a secure, defined benefit pension and show how OMERS continues to make a positive impact across generations.”

The study found that Defined Benefit (DB) pension members are significantly more likely to support their communities through charitable giving, with 61% of non-retired DB members donating $100 or more annually to charity. OMERS active members have higher workforce retention, with 90% citing their pension as a key reason for staying with their employer.

“By supporting local jobs and helping retirees enjoy greater dignity and confidence, OMERS plays an important role in Ontario’s social and economic fabric,” said Ms. Chiovitti.

“These findings highlight why defined benefit pensions are so valuable to current retirees and to the province’s continued well-being,” adds Dr. Paul Smetanin, President and CEO of CANCEA.

For more information, explore Essential Stability: OMERS continued impact on Ontario's Economy and members' livesOpens new window.

A growing economic impact

The new report shows that OMERS activities contributed to:

• $15.3 billion in provincial GDP (an 11% increase from 2023 and a 28% increase from 2020).

• 135,200 jobs across Ontario, including almost 40,000 jobs in rural communities.

• Nearly $4.2 billion in combined federal and provincial tax revenue.

• In total, more than 832,000 Ontarians - the equivalent of 1 in 11 households - benefited from OMERS activities in 2025.

Impact across all regions of Ontario

OMERS contribution to economic activity is felt across every region:

• Greater Toronto Area: 71,500 jobs; $7.9B GDP contribution

• Southwestern Ontario: 25,800 jobs; $2.7B GDP

• Eastern Ontario: 16,800 jobs; $1.7B GDP

• Central Ontario: 14,900 jobs; $2.4B GDP

• Northern Ontario: 6,200 jobs; $0.6B GDP

Social value and essential stability

The social value of DB pensions has shifted from offering a 'lifestyle advantage' in 2020 to providing 'essential stability' in 2025, highlighting the OMERS role as a stable part of Ontario’s social infrastructure.

OMERS retirees scored high in life satisfaction. This reflects the well-being associated with retirement support programs like OMERS.

Health and well-being

DB retirees are more likely to report lower stress, positive mental health, and good physical health.

Community impact

Charitable Giving (Not Yet Retired): Active DB members are more than twice as likely to donate $100 or more each year to charity.

Charitable Giving (Retired): 75.7% of DB retirees donate significant amounts to charity.

Volunteering: 61% of OMERS retirees volunteer in their communities.

Workforce retention

Keeping employees: OMERS active members have higher workforce retention, with 90% citing their pension as a key reason for staying with their employer.

Retirement planning confidence

DB Members: 93% say their pension plays a meaningful role in their retirement planning.

About OMERS

OMERS is a jointly sponsored, defined benefit pension plan, with more than 1,000 participating employers ranging from large cities to local agencies, and 665,000 active, deferred and retired members. Our members include union and non-union employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies across Ontario. OMERS teams work in Toronto, London, New York, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Singapore, Sydney and other major cities across North America and Europe – serving members and employers, and originating and managing a diversified portfolio of high-quality investments in government bonds, public and private credit, public and private equities, infrastructure and real estate.

Alright, I was going to talk about OMERS again but today is Pension Awareness Day in Ontario and Don Peat at OMERS sent me this press release which is worth highlighting.

Worth noting again what Jonathan Simmons, CFO & CSO at OMERS states above:

 “OMERS is a powerful economic engine for Ontario,” said Jonathan Simmons, OMERS Chief Financial and Strategy Officer. “In 2025 alone, our activities generated billions in GDP and helped support more than 135,000 jobs across the province. These results underscore how pensions don’t just support retirees—they help strengthen local economies, create jobs, and provide a stable foundation.”

There is no question OMERS and other large defined benefit plans in Ontario do their part in helping that province's economy over the long run and it's important to highlight this.

OMERS quantifies it and while it and other top Canadian pensions get criticized in the media for not investing enough in Canada relative to the US, the truth is they do invest across public and private companies and have a material impact on the economy.

By the way, Vincent Morin, President of Trans-Canada Capital shared this with me after reading my post earlier this week on top pension funds investing in the US:

I don’t usually comment publicly on these issues, but this one matters to me. 

Many are missing an important point. Yes—fiduciary duty, diversification, and strong risk‑adjusted returns must drive pension investing. And I also agree that adding constraints is not a good idea. But beyond where assets are invested, we should also look at where management fees go. When Canadian pension plans hire managers with a strong local presence, the fees flow back into the Canadian economy through jobs, business activity, and taxes. When plans hire foreign firms with no real Canadian footprint, those profits, salaries, and taxes go offshore. With the rise of alternatives, a large share of fees paid by Canadian plans now ends up abroad, amounting to billions annually. 

Where a firm is based also influences where capital ultimately gets deployed and which ecosystems grow. A Canadian PE firm with a global mandate is still more likely to invest in Canadian projects than one based in Texas or California. Location shapes networks, deal flow, and future Canadian headquarters. 

There is also an asymmetry in regulation. Under ERISA, U.S. pension fiduciaries face personal liability if they hire a non‑SEC‑registered foreign manager, which discourages them from hiring Canadian firms (SEC registration is quite a burden for small firms). Canada has no equivalent barrier; foreign firms can compete freely here. The protectionism is one‑way. 

Of course, I am biased—we are trying to win clients. But at equal talent and expected returns, Canadian allocators should consider firms with a strong domestic presence. In our own large plan, the Canadian based alternative managers we hired have performed just as well as foreign ones. We must remain global investors, but even a marginal shift toward local providers—when mandates can be managed from Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, or Halifax—strengthens the Canadian ecosystem and economy. 

I thank Vincent for his wise insights and agree with him.

Maple 8 funds have allocated to Canadian private equity and venture capital, not so much to Canadian alpha managers (hedge funds). 

In fact, apart from La Caisse which has a seeding/ growth mandate in Quebec to all asset managers, no other Canadian pension fund has an explicit mandate to invest in Canadian hedge funds.

Vincent rightly notes that those fees go right back into the Canadian economy. 

I'll publicly plug Trans-Canada Capital here because I think they do excellent work and their absolute return fund is second to none. Well worth looking into them. 

That's all from me, the main message here is OMERS does a lot to support the Ontario economy through direct and indirect jobs, through its retired and active members.

And if you really want to appreciate all that OMERS and other large DB plans across Canada do to bolster the domestic economy, listen to the podcast below where Avis Favaro discusses 'aging without dignity', it's sobering. 

From going without electricity to relying on food banks, Canada’s seniors are struggling to age with dignity. Data shows that 1 in 5 live at the poverty line, with rent and housing eating up their meagre incomes. As well, 91% of seniors say they want to live at home, but the support isn’t always there — for example, home care may not reach seniors in rural communities. 

All of this is leaving our stressed health systems to fill the gap. And the pressure is only growing. In fact, in 2026, Canada officially became a super-aged nation — meaning that at least 20% of the population (1 in 5 people) is age 65 or older.

In this episode, host Avis Favaro speaks with seniors across Canada who are struggling to make ends meet, as well as with Dr. Samir Sinha — a geriatric specialist at the Sinai Health System and an advisor to Canada’s National Institute on Ageing — on why, despite decades of warning, our country seems wholly unprepared to care for our aging population.

Business Wire reports Paradigm signs definitive agreement to be acquired by Patient Square Capital:

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paradigm (“Paradigm” or the “Company”), a specialty care management organization focused on delivering solutions that improve outcomes for individuals with complex injuries and diagnoses, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Patient Square Capital (“Patient Square”), a leading health care investment firm.

This planned investment by Patient Square reflects a long‑standing relationship with Paradigm’s leadership and deep familiarity with the Company’s mission and performance. It underscores Paradigm’s proven ability to manage complex, high‑acuity cases and its growing leadership in payment integrity, home health, and network services. It also reflects strong confidence in the Company’s ability to deliver measurable cost savings and improved outcomes for patients and clients in both the workers’ compensation and health care payer sectors. The transaction marks the successful conclusion of Paradigm’s partnership with OMERS Private Equity.

“Patient Square shares our commitment to improving outcomes for people facing the most complex health challenges. Their partnership will help Paradigm extend our proven model in workers’ compensation and accelerate our impact across the broader health care landscape,” said John S. Watts, Jr., CEO, Paradigm. “We are proud of the progress achieved in partnership with OMERS, and grateful for their support of our strategy and investment in our team and platform, which helped position Paradigm as a leader in complex care management.”

“Paradigm has built a leading business that delivers reliable outcomes in complex care management,” said David Katz, Partner at Patient Square. “We’re excited to partner with this seasoned team as the Company accelerates its growth and expands its impact for patients and payers.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026. Leerink Partners served as lead financial advisor to Paradigm. Truist Securities, Inc. also served as financial advisor to the Company. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as legal advisor to Paradigm. Greenberg Traurig is acting as legal counsel to Patient Square, and UBS Investment Bank and Santander are serving as its financial advisors.

About Paradigm

Paradigm is a specialty care management organization, focused on improving the lives of people with complex injuries and diagnoses. For nearly 35 years, the company has been a pioneer in value-based care, generating the very best outcomes for patients, payers, and providers in the workers’ compensation and healthcare markets. Paradigm impacts complex, high-cost care and spend categories through risk-based clinical solutions and case management, specialty networks, home health, shared decision support, and payment integrity programs. The company consistently delivers proven cost savings, while improving outcomes across the continuum of care. For more information, please visit www.paradigmcorp.com.

About Patient Square Capital

Patient Square Capital is a dedicated health care investment firm with approximately $17 billion in assets under management. The firm aims to achieve strong investment returns by partnering with growth-oriented companies and top-tier management teams whose products, services, and technologies improve health. Patient Square utilizes deep industry expertise, a broad network of relationships, and a partnership approach to make investments in companies that will grow and thrive. Patient Square invests in businesses that strive to improve patient lives, strengthen communities, and create a healthier world. For more information, visit www.patientsquarecapital.com.

OMERS Private Equity recently announced the sale of Paradigm:

Transaction delivers significant value for OMERS members and positions Paradigm to sustain investment in innovation and extended capabilities

New York, NY – OMERS Private Equity (OPE) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Paradigm, a leading specialty care management organization, to a leading health care investment firm.

Since its investment in Paradigm in October 2018, OMERS and the Paradigm leadership team have worked closely together to transform the company into a robust, data-driven specialty care management platform delivering value-based solutions for individuals with complex injuries and diagnoses, serving workers’ compensation and group health payors. During OMERS ownership, Paradigm broadened its offering across workers’ compensation into adjacent healthcare end markets, expanded its capabilities in complex case management, home-based care, payment integrity and specialty networks, and invested in technology, analytics and clinical talent to support sustainable growth.

“OMERS has been an outstanding partner to Paradigm, backing our strategy, investing in our people and capabilities, and sharing our long term commitment to improving outcomes for some of the most complex patient populations,” said John Watts, Chief Executive Officer of Paradigm. “We are well positioned as we move into our next chapter, extending our proven, value based model and continuing to deliver meaningful results for patients, payors and providers.”

“The sale of Paradigm represents a great outcome for OMERS and our members and marks an important milestone for a business we have been proud to back for many years,” said Geoffrey Bird, Co-Head of Private Equity at OMERS Private Equity. “Paradigm has established itself as a differentiated leader in complex care management and cost containment and we look forward to watching their continued success as they move towards a new phase of growth."

The sale represents the successful realization of OPE’s long-standing partnership with Paradigm marked by a period of strong operational and financial performance, and is consistent with OPE’s thesis driven, partnership first strategy of backing market leading, mission critical businesses on behalf of OMERS more than 640,000 members. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.  

Even though financial details were not disclosed, this is another great distribution for OMERS Private Equity. 

Recall, in December, OMERS Private Equity announced the sale of CBI Health’s home care business to Extendicare (I covered it here). 

At the time I noted: 

[..] carving out CBI Home Health and selling it to Extendicare for $517 million was a great way to realize value on this deal.

OMERS PE did its job to nurture and help grow the operations at CBI Health which it still owns (the physiotherapy and rehabilitation services sector) and realized great value for its members on this distribution.

This is also a great acquisition for Extenidcare and it will help solidify the company as Canada's leader in the home care business.

This transaction with Paradigm is expected to close in the first half of 2026.  

OMERS Private Equity did its job nurturing this company since 2018, adding value, and now Patient Square Capital has acquired it for an undisclosed amount to take it to the next level. 

The key points were in the OMERS PE press release:

“OMERS has been an outstanding partner to Paradigm, backing our strategy, investing in our people and capabilities, and sharing our long term commitment to improving outcomes for some of the most complex patient populations,” said John Watts, Chief Executive Officer of Paradigm. “We are well positioned as we move into our next chapter, extending our proven, value based model and continuing to deliver meaningful results for patients, payors and providers.”

“The sale of Paradigm represents a great outcome for OMERS and our members and marks an important milestone for a business we have been proud to back for many years,” said Geoffrey Bird, Co-Head of Private Equity at OMERS Private Equity. “Paradigm has established itself as a differentiated leader in complex care management and cost containment and we look forward to watching their continued success as they move towards a new phase of growth."  

Alexander Fraser is the Global Head of Private Equity at OMERS, responsible for the overall leadership and performance of the business. He joined OMERS in March 2025 and is based in New York.

Clearly he has directed his troops to sell some assets to shore up liquidity and realize on gains and he is setting the course of their new strategy.

More on that next week when I cover OMERS' 2025 results. 

Below, Paradigm CEO John S. Watts, Jr. sits down with R&I at the 2019 National Workers' Compensation Disability Conference & Expo to discuss how Paradigm has continued to evolve its whole person, whole family approach to catastrophic care management and how that experience can be used to drive better outcomes overall.