Watch Groups

David Colla Appointed Global Head of Credit Investments at CPP Investments

Pension Pulse - February 24, 2026 - 8:01pm

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 decided 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.

A Discussion With OMERS CEO and CFO/ CSO on Their 2025 Results

Pension Pulse - February 23, 2026 - 8:32pm

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 high level overview:

The punchline is 6%, we made $8.2 billion. We have about 3000 people, by the way, 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.
Last year, quite honestly, was one of the most difficult investment environments that I've ever experienced and the punchline for me is, as a businessperson and an investor, I don't ask for a head start. I didn't ask for a leg up. 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, for us at OMERS and Oxford, I like our odds to compete with the best of the best, and in environment where there's tariffs on, off, geopolitical, shifts, not only in the US and Canada, but around the world. Is Starmer going to make it in the UK? 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 made it extraordinarily difficult, and it's hitting our currencies, it's hitting our equities, but most importantly, or notably, it hits our day to day decision making. 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've 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 demonstrate 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, 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 I became CEO in 2020. Our 10-year return is 7.1% and (over this period) we returned over $74 billion to the plan 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 80s% 20 years ago to 99% this year, and counting. 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 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 5 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 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 invest in. 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, they are currency agnostic. If the US and Canadian currency had stayed flat, we would have been closer to 8%.
We ended protecting about 70 basis points through hedging strategies, but it still cost us 130 basis points, because we certainly aren't going back to a period where we edge 100%. 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 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 trends translated from the US and the US policies.
A couple more ideas. We remain 55% committed to the United States. 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, 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, the Americans are great friends, and are great partners.
But we want to do more in Canada. And we have, as you know, a significant portfolio here, sometimes with partners. Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, Chateau Whistler, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Square One, Scarborough Town Centre, 20% of the office market A class product in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto. Bruce Power, the largest nuclear plant on the planet, 31% of the power supply for Ontario. Teranet, the Ontario land registry system here, a little piece of the MLSE, as 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.

When Blake wrapped up his opening, 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 are we great at, how do we 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 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 is 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, 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 assets, we have some good assets and we have some assets facing challenges 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 a bright guy. He's leading, getting his arms around it. We did take some writedowns. 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 going to happen overnight. We will do more co-investments, 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 Plesman has rejoined Oxford from HOOPP to be the CEO and President. I also noted even though commercial 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 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 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 has become an 8% or 9% business, not a 12.5% business, for the foreseeable future. And 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 in place. So it took us a few years to turn it and 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 an extraordinary business that we've built up for over 30 years, close to 40 years. And so I would put our team against any in the world to compete. 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've heard that story 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 working through a couple others right now that that we are deeply focused on them and seeing them through a difficult period. When you have a couple of those, if, 10% of your book causing a grief, that's probably to be expected.

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 point in bragging about because no one wants to write about it."

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 that's very difficult in a 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 deep relationships. We continue to believe in infrastructure as a business 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 geographies, 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, 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.

Pressure on Blue Owl Capital (OWL) isn't letting up after an asset sale meant to calm investor worries last week sparked new concern from top government officials about the $1.8 trillion private credit industry.

"We are concerned," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday when asked about the growth of Blue Owl and other private lenders over recent years. "If there is something rotten, it is not going to be handed to the individual investors," Bessent said.

Top Funds' Activity in Q4 2025

Pension Pulse - February 20, 2026 - 8:42pm

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 cloud 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)

50) Oaktree Capital Management

51) Fayez Sarofim & Co

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

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.

OMERS' Economic Contribution to Ontario Grows to $15.3 Billion

Pension Pulse - February 19, 2026 - 7:37pm

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 wasn't 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/ pension funds 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/ pension funds 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.

OMERS Private Equity Sells Paradigm to Patient Square Capital

Pension Pulse - February 18, 2026 - 5:37pm

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 $570 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.

Why Are Canada's Top Pension Funds Still Heavily Invested in the US?

Pension Pulse - February 17, 2026 - 8:20pm

Dave Seglins of the CBC reports amid 'Buy Canadian' fervour, Canada's top pension funds still heavily invested in U.S.:

For all the fear over the U.S. trade war and President Donald Trump's threats to Canadian sovereignty, this country's biggest pension funds remain heavily invested in the U.S.
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the largest pension fund in the country, announced this week that it has grown to a record $780.7 billion in assets, with 47 per cent invested in the U.S., compared to only 13 per cent in Canada.
That level of U.S. ownership hasn’t budged in the year since Trump retook office, according to third-quarter results released on Friday.

The CPP’s U.S. assets have grown steadily since 2005, when Ottawa removed a cap on foreign holdings in Canadian pensions and RRSPs.
The CPP now has $366 billion invested in the U.S., compared with $98 billion in Canada.
A CBC analysis found the CPP is not alone among the "Maple Eight," the biggest pension funds in Canada, which collectively hold $1 trillion in U.S. assets.
For example, 55 per cent of the portfolio held by OMERS (the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) is American, as is 40.5 per cent held by the PSP (Public Sector Pension).
Only three of the Maple Eight have more Canadian assets than American — the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Alberta Investment Management Corp.

When asked this week about its U.S. holdings, CPP spokesperson Michel Leduc acknowledged investors are increasingly concerned about geopolitical risks. But he emphasized that the CPP invests long-term.
“We are not easily whipsawed by current events or by any economic or even electoral cycles, even as we monitor turmoil very carefully to avoid excessive risks,” he said.
Leduc says CPP is in fact below the average for the size of its U.S. holdings when compared to leading measures of global investment diversification, such as the MSCI World Index and the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100.
“All of those global indices are 65 per cent U.S. content,” Leduc said. “So yes, I understand Canadians are wondering, 'Why so much in the U.S.? Why not more in Canada?'... 47 per cent is actually well below [the average].”
Calls for domestic investment
Daniel Brosseau, president of Letko Brosseau Global Investment Management in Montreal, said pension funds don't just sign people’s cheques to support them in retirement. They have many impacts on the economy.
“They are also investing in things, investing in plants, equipment and economic activity," he said. "They can influence people's wages in Canada, they can influence the wealth of Canadians in Canada through their investments.”
In 2024, Brosseau co-wrote a letter signed by 90 investment leaders calling on Ottawa to create new incentives for the Maple Eight to invest a greater share of their capital domestically.
“We have a lot of dry powder, about $3 trillion that can be invested in Canada,” said Brosseau.
Sen. Clément Gignac, an economist by profession, says concerns over uncertainty south of the border and new opportunities to invest here are prompting Canadian pension funds to rethink their U.S. holdings.
“The environment has changed a lot. It's still a liquid market but it's very unpredictable, the economic policies from the Trump administration,” Gignac said. “I think the risk/return has shifted regarding the U.S., and that's the reason that, in fact, I think that Canadian pension funds are currently re-evaluating their exposure to the U.S. market.”
Pensions, feds met on Bay Street
Managers of the Maple Eight funds met with Canada’s finance minister in Toronto in January to discuss new ventures for the $2.6 trillion in assets they have amassed, and to encourage more domestic investment.
“We have had a recent discussion with all of them to say … can we do more together, respecting that they are independent but at the same time looking at opportunities,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told CBC News.
“We have created a meeting point every quarter that we're going to be sitting together … looking at the kind of projects that could lead them to invest more in Canada.”
But the government has made no moves to regulate or force pension funds to "Buy Canadian," which was the case prior to 2005, when Ottawa imposed foreign ownership limits on RRSPs and pension funds.
”There's tools in the toolbox, but I would say at this stage, I think that [the big pension funds] have realized themselves the interest of investing in Canada,” Champagne said.
Keith Ambachtsheer of the International Center for Pension Management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management was among the people who fought to remove those foreign investment caps.
“I was part of a long campaign to say, ‘That's a really bad idea. We've got to get rid of this.’ Pension funds have to be able to diversify globally,” Ambachtsheer said.
He says he’s not surprised their U.S. holdings are large.
“If you put the global portfolio together and look at it, it’s got a big chunk of the U.S. in it, just because it's a big country with a big capital market,” he said. “The good news is when you measure it as to how we've actually done the last 10, 20 years, it's pretty good.”
As an example, CPP reported on Friday that it had averaged 8.4 per cent annualized returns over the last 10 years, despite recent “geopolitical tensions.”
Looking long-term
CBC requested comment from each of the Maple Eight pension funds. Several didn’t reply.
Others stressed that their fund managers are watching developments in the U.S. closely and are seeking new ventures in Canada, given the mega-projects that have recently been announced by various governments. Ottawa earmarked $264 million to be allocated by its new Major Projects Office.
“We recognize that this is a pivotal time for Canada, and we see significant opportunities to advance transformative, nation-building projects," said Don Peat, spokesperson for OMERS, in an email. "We are engaged with all levels of government and other partners and are reviewing several opportunities at this time.”
CPP’s Michel Leduc said the fund is ultimately interested in low-risk investments that deliver predictable returns.
“We’re monitoring very closely the public policies that are being put in place at the federal and provincial levels to supply opportunities…. we're looking for assets that provide predictable, long-term sources of returns that are de-risked,” he said, citing things "like infrastructure, utilities, airports.”
“The fund is not managed according to any whims. We are acting on very clear objectives in the [Canada Pension Plan] Act, and not based on sudden, impulsive, unpredictable desires.”

Alright, I read this article over the weekend because Senator Clement Gignac who was once my boss at the National Bank posted it supporting the "Buy Canadian" narrative.

I replied to Clement:

I’ve discussed this issue in-depth on my blog. Canada’s large pension funds invest enough in Canada across public and private markets and are looking to invest more in Canadian infrastructure assets if the federal government creates winning conditions. Over the long run, US equities will outperform for a lot of reasons so their strategy there is smart. Sure, Canadian equities dominated by resources, financials and telcos can do well over a year or three but that’s not a secular trend. Ask yourselves why Norway’s giant wealth fund invests almost exclusively abroad, primarily in US equities and has done extraordinarily well over the long run. We need to trust our pension fund managers, they get paid big bucks to figure out how their funds can outperform over the long run.

He responded:

Very good arguments mon ami. However, as former Strategist and Portfolio manager, I will refrain myself to mention that US equities (which represent now above 60% of Global MSCI capitalization) will automatically outperform their counterparts (or Canada in CDN dollar denominated) over the long-run!
I remember similar conviction from Portfolio managers about Japanese equities in Mid 80’s when Japan country weighting exceeding 40% of MSCI (versus about 30% for US equities).

Given the ongoing unpredictable US trade policies, unsustainable fiscal situation not to mention very rich US equities valuation, nobody really knows about the future relative performance including our “very smart and talented” CPP Investments and other Canadian public Pension funds managers!

And once again, I ended this exchange with this response:

Nobody knows the future but the US 2026 isn’t Japan 1980, far from it. It remains the most liquid and diverse market in the world with the best tech exposure in world. Will it always outperform rest of world? No, 2025 was perfect example but over next 20 years, I feel comfortable with US exposure. Lastly, let’s not forget Canada has its own structural issues to address, the productivity gap being number one. As far as Trump, he’s becoming more predictable (and irrelevant) by the day, so I’m not worried about a full on trade war despite saber-rattling.

I think there's a move to capitalize on tenuous US-Canada relations to push our large pension funds to invest more at home.

But our pension funds have been very clear with government officials, their governance is set in law, they operate independently and are overseen by an independent board and they have a fiduciary and legal duty to act in the best interests of their stakeholders and that's where their focus is.

Nonetheless, they're looking to invest in very specific Canadian infrastructure assets which will help them invest billions as they achieve their long-term return target without taking undue risk.

All this has been clearly discussed with government officials.

What they're not looking to do is invest more in Canadian equities and that has some people upset but these critics don't understand their mandate and mission and have ulterior reasons for wanting this.

When Daniel Brosseau, president of Letko Brosseau Global Investment Management in Montreal,says the following on pension funds:

“They are also investing in things, investing in plants, equipment and economic activity," he said. "They can influence people's wages in Canada, they can influence the wealth of Canadians in Canada through their investments.”

He's making a policy statement because he says pension funds are better off investing at home to increase Canadians' wealth through higher wages.

It sounds great but there are a few major flaws.

First, the number one job of all our large pension funds is to achieve returns to meet long-dated liabilities. They do this by diversifying globally, investing across public and private markets.

Second major flaw in Daniel Brosseau's thinking is that pension funds can be part of public policy and help the economy over the long run when we know the only thing that can achieve this over the long run is higher productivity growth.

What irks me is that over the last 10+ years, Trudeau's Liberals halted all resource projects, made it next to impossible for foreigners to invest in Canada and now to clean up the mess, we expect to use pension assets to "invest more in Canada" instead of getting to the real root of the problem, namely asinine regulations and public policies that have set our economy back decades.

I'm so tired of this "invest in Canada" nonsense, our pension funds already invest more than they really need to in Canada across public and private markets, they're not going to save the Canadian economy over the long run and by imposing constraints to invest more in Canada, you risk jeopardizing their long term sustainability.

I'll say it over and over to Daniel Brosseau, Peter Letko, Clement Gignac and anyone else, leave our large pension funds alone, go after the politicians and force them to make drastic changes to public policy to spur more investment in Canada.

Canada's large pension funds have one mandate (apart from the Caisse which has a dual mandate), it's to take intelligent risks all over the world to make sure there are more than enough assets to meet long-dated liabilities.

That's it, that's all, if they can invest in Canadian infrastructure to help them realize their long-term objectives, fine, if not, forget about this call for action that our pension funds invest more in Canada.

Lastly, since we are talking about good public policy, the best way we can help the Canadian economy over the long run is to leave our pension funds alone to ensure Canadians retire well and spend more money into the economy when they reach retirement.

Below, Amanda Lang takes a ‘by the numbers’ look at the state of Canada’s infrastructure needed for housing – then talks it over with Peter Weltman, Vice-chair of the Canadian Infrastructure Council. Amanda then looks at innovation in how we finance our infrastructure needs with Ben Dachis, Vice-President of Outreach & Research at Clean Prosperity (December, 2025).

Update: After reading this comment, Michel Leduc, Senior Managing Director and Chief Public Affairs Officer at CPP Investments, shared this with me:

Of course, we seek to be accessible and responsive to the media (a key principle in public accountability), yet we understand how outlets need to package information for their audience, which means a lot of the information we share with them falls on the cutting room floor as they say.
A core part of what I shared with the CBC is that the "Daniel Brosseaus" of the world (in this case, purveyors of domestic public equities) think about wealth maximization and that's not the same thing as managing the CPP Fund. One is not better than the other. Just different mandates.
Of course, LetkoBros. is highly inspired to sell more Canadian stock. When an asset manager advocates for pension funds to allocate more to the strategies they manage, it’s worth being mindful of incentives: higher domestic allocations can also translate into higher assets under management and fee revenue, independent of whether outcomes improve for retirees.
Their ‘buy Canada’ message aligns closely with their business model (greater pension allocations to Canadian equities could increase their assets under management and compensation) so pension plans may want to weigh the proposal carefully against risk, diversification, and beneficiary outcomes.
Your own worldview is considerably different when the job isn’t to "swing for the fences" to such a degree that it might jeopardize your ability to deliver benefits at current contribution rates for current and future beneficiaries. A shameless plug: the CPP is projected to be financially viable (pay all benefits) until at least 2099. That includes future beneficiaries who find themselves in kindergarten today.
Here is the hard part: More than a half dozen factors affect the funding of the CPP: e.g., mortality improvements, declining fertility rates, differing immigration policy outcomes, slowing productivity by industry, real wage growth, etc. We can set aside geopolitics, climate change and A.I. for now.
Pulled together, all these factors eclipse our investment income in driving the financial sustainability of what is viewed as among the world's most successful national retirement systems. We asked the CBC - aside from investment income - what is the common feature across the half dozen economic and demographic factors affecting the funding status of the CPP?
* All 100% "made in Canada" exposures: also known as concentration risk. *
So, the most valuable work CPP Investments can do is to prudently ("prudent person rule") lower concentration risk. Canada ranks #10 in global GDP. Still, it is #2 in the CPP Fund's overall worldwide exposure.
We know the paradigm of domestic fee-collecting asset managers is different from our own challenge, yet the pressure they seek to impose on us (like buying full page advertising to publicly pressure politicians to force us to buy their product) does not even come close to how we think about our mission: helping to ensure Canadians have a foundation to live with dignity throughout their most vulnerable stage of life. That is very different from making wealthy people richer.

I thank Michel for his wise insights here and caution my readers to always "think critically" when reading articles from any source, be it the left-wing CBC or right-wing National Post.

Michel is right, asset managers that invest primarily in Canadian equities have an inherent conflict of interest when they claim Canadian pension funds should invest more in Canada (they prefer equities even though they don't publicly state it).

In short, they're talking up their book, much like portfolio managers appearing on CNBC or BNN Bloomberg do but claim this is all for public interest.

And as I stated above, if we talk about public interest, my preference is to leave Canada's top pension funds alone to deliver on their objectives. This way, more Canadians can retire in dignity and security and that's good for the economy over the long run.

Can governments rewrite the laws to impose dual mandates on all of Canada's large pension funds? Sure they can but is it in the best interest of contributors, retirees and stakeholders over the long run? That is the question that Canadians deserve an honest answer to.

My biggest fear is that politicians see the success of Canada's large pension funds as means to influence public policy and the temptation for government interference is too strong.

In my opinion, this would be a fatal and costly mistake. If politicians want to improve the Canadian economy over the long run, they need to focus on cutting taxes, asinine regulations and laws imposed during Justin Trudeau's era and creating winning conditions for international and domestic investors to invest more in Canada.

Update #2: Vincent Morin, President of Trans-Canada Capital shared this with me after reading this post:

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.

By the way, 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.

Lastly, I'll 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.

AI Disruption Fear Runs Amok

Pension Pulse - February 16, 2026 - 2:36pm

Innes Ferré of Yahoo Finance reports on 'the dark side of AI', Wall Street weighs recent stock sell-off over disruption fears:

The stock market just got a look at how disruptive investor concerns over AI could become across multiple industries.

What began as a shake-up in software stocks spread to the wealth management, transportation, and logistics industries last week, raising questions about just how deeply AI could transform not only tech but also high-fee service businesses.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both ended the week down more than 1% as Financial Services (XLF), Consumer Discretionary (XLY), and tech stocks sold off on AI concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was down 1.2% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped 2% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 1.4%
"That's the dark side of AI," Innovator Capital Management chief investment strategist Tim Urbanowicz told Yahoo Finance. "We need to pay attention to that because I do think there's going to be other industries that are disrupted, and this is certainly a threat."

Shares of C.H. Robinson (CHRW) and Universal Logistics (ULH) closed out the week with losses of 11% and 9%, respectively, after a Florida-based company announced a new tool that would scale freight volumes without increasing headcount.
The sell-off echoed a drop in wealth management stocks like Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Raymond James (RJF), which fell 10% and 8%, respectively, for the week, after the launch of an AI-driven tax tool that allows advisers to customize strategies for clients. The tool raised fears that automation could put pressure on the industry's high advisory fees.
The "AI scare trade" has now spread across multiple industries, with software stocks getting hammered in recent weeks amid fears that AI will take over tasks traditionally handled by enterprise giants like Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW) and disrupt their revenue models.

The Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), which also includes heavyweights like Microsoft (MSFT) and Palantir (PLTR), is down 22% year to date.
Many on Wall Street consider the sell-off overdone.

"I don't necessarily think the bottom is in here," Urbanowicz said. "Margins are through the roof in this category of stocks. Those haven't come down yet, and valuations still are pretty elevated."

That said, Urbanowicz still sees a "very supportive backdrop" for stocks, forecasting the S&P 500 at 7,600 by the end of the year.

Part of that has to do with a supportive regulatory backdrop from the Trump administration, corporate tax incentives from the Big Beautiful Bill Act, and leadership in other sectors, like Energy (XLE), Consumer Staples (XLP), and Materials (XLB), which are all up double-digit percentages year to date, compared to Technology (XLK), down 2.5% during the same period.
Amanda Agati, chief investment officer of PNC Asset Management Group, recommends looking past the volatility and focusing on the broader theme.
"I think this is a short-term blip, and the fact that we're seeing pretty significant market breadth outside of these one-off names ... really gives me confidence that the rally is sustainable even though it's going to be a choppy year," Agati told Yahoo Finance.
UBS strategists recently said investors should look beyond tech as a way to navigate potential risks and fully capture the upside AI could bring across industries.
"We also believe companies that actively use AI to enhance operations and evolve their business models should benefit, especially those in the financials and health care sectors," Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, CIO Americas and global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a recent note.

John Towfil of CNN also reports on why the 'AI scare trade' might not be done:

A sell-off rippled through software, real estate and trucking stocks this past week as investors worried artificial intelligence could upend some industries — and analysts say the white-knuckle drops might not be over yet.

Software stocks bore the initial brunt of AI disruption nerves. But those fears soon spread to insurance companies, brokerage firms, real estate services — even logistics and trucking.

“Market is in shoot first, ask questions later mode, with any names/sectors that could be impacted by AI disruption taking a hit,” Mohit Kumar, a strategist at Jefferies, said in a note.

The slump in shares points out a major change for investors going forward: AI, which had been powering big rallies in tech and other stocks for months, could now actually drag on some parts of the market.
Financial services
Shares of major insurance brokers fell on February 9 after Madrid-based startup Tuio unveiled a new insurance app built with ChatGPT, according to UBS.

That sparked fears that AI tools could eat into existing companies’ business models and customer bases. Shares of professional services and insurance companies sank. Marsh shares (MRSH) tumbled 7.5%. Arthur J. Gallagher shares (AJG) dropped 9.85%.

But Brian Meredith, an analyst at UBS, said in a note that he thinks the sell-off was “meaningfully overdone,” noting that insurance brokers remain “essential intermediaries” for household financial decisions, and it is unlikely AI will ultimately upend the industry.

On Tuesday, tech startup Altruist announced a new tax planning feature for Hazel, the company’s AI tool. That stoked fears that the specialized client services offered by brokerage and wealth management firms could face increased competition.

Charles Schwab (SCHW) shares dropped 7.42% Tuesday. Shares of financial services company LPL Financial (LPLA) and Raymond James (RJF) slumped 8.75% and 8.31%, respectively.
Real estate
Real estate services found themselves in the barrel on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cushman & Wakefield shares (CWK) tumbled 13.8% Wednesday and 11.5% Thursday. Shares of real estate service companies CBRE Group (CBRE) dropped 12.2% and 8.8% across the two days. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) fell 12.5% and 7.6%.
“We believe investors are scrutinizing high-fee, labor-intensive business models viewed as potentially vulnerable to AI-driven disruption,” Jade Rahmani, an analyst at Keefe, Bruette & Woods, said in a note.

And AI has the potential not just to compete with traditional real estate brokerages and agents, but to slash demand for office space in general, as AI executives predict their technology will eliminate swaths of the economy.

“If there are less office workers in the long run as a result of AI, there will be less demand for office space,” CBRE Group chief executive Bob Sulentic said on the company’s earnings call on Thursday morning. “That would be a long-term trend to unfold.”
Logistics
The Dow Jones Transportation Average — an index of 20 companies in the transportation industry — sank 4% Thursday and had its worst day since April.
The culprit was Algorhythm Holdings, which announced a new tool that could improve efficiency and better optimize the trucking business.

The reaction was swift: Shares of RXO (RXO), a freight company, plummeted 20.45% on Thursday. Shares of logistics company C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) dropped 14.54%.

“While perceptions of artificial intelligence are influencing recent market activity, C.H. Robinson has been a leader in AI for more than a decade and we believe AI will only continue to strengthen our performance and widen our competitive moat,” C.H. Robinson said in a statement.

Algorhym’s announcement was all the more surprising considering the company once specialized in selling karaoke machines before pivoting to become an AI and logistics company.
“It’s perhaps indicative of the state of markets at the moment that a $6 million market cap company that until recently specialized in karaoke helped wipe tens of billions off logistics stocks to add to the weakness,” Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.
Algorhythm shares (RIME) rose almost 30% last week.
Where do stocks go from here?
Angelo Kourkafas, senior global strategist at Edward Jones, told CNN that “fear of AI disruption” has been a dominant theme in markets over the past two weeks. But the ripples permeating the stock market right now are themselves based on hypothetical scenarios, he said.

Kourkafas said the fears are more “speculative in nature” rather than based on immediate, fundamental changes to companies’ revenue streams.
“Yes, in the near term there could be fears of disruption across many different industries, but we know these companies are actively investigating ways to evolve and offer better platforms, products and services as a result of that,” Kourkafas said.

But Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG, said in a Thursday note that single-stock moves based on AI nerves are “getting more and more extreme.”

“At a certain point … we begin getting concerned that the weakness supersedes the strength and the broad market becomes vulnerable,” Krinsky wrote.

And Crystal Kim of Investopedia reports investors are dealing with AI fears by 'shoting first, asking questions later':

Companies in the financial sector were the latest casualty of perceived AI-disruption fears.
While some fears may appear overblown, it doesn't help that AI impact has become more measurable recently, making those concerns easier to quantify.

This week it was financials. Last week it was software and legal services. Perhaps next week something else will be crushed by fears of AI disruption.

Investors appear to have pivoted from worrying about AI getting over its skis in valuation terms, to fretting about what it could displace—and selling it.

Between Anthropic's unveiling of an AI model the company said would be better at tasks including financial analysis, research, and work involving spreadsheets, and with tech platform Altruist launching an AI-powered tax planning tool, investors have panned shares of financial companies like Charles Schwab (SCHW) and LPL Financial (LPLA) this week. The SPDR S&P Software & Services (XSW) and Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) ETFs are down 19% and 3%, year-to-date, respectively, while the benchmark index is in the green.

AI-related disruption, real or perceived, would appear to be entrenched in market vibes. That may, in part, be driven by the impact of the technology becoming more quantifiable. And it could be a source of indiscriminate selling going forward, with equity strategists saying "disruption-related volatility" is likely to be "recurring."
In a broader swath of companies tracked by Morgan Stanley, 30% cited at least one measurable impact of AI adoption in the fourth quarter of last year, the firm's equity analysts wrote Wednesday. That's up from 16% over the same period in 2024. That said, the perception of disruption has "unfairly" dinged companies, including those in the software and services sectors, the analysts said.

The firm listed a set of stocks that have been subsequently "mispriced"—including Microsoft (MSFT), Intuit (INTU), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) as well as Sony Group (SONY), Tencent Holdings, and Spotify (SPOT).
Analysts across various firms are picking through their respective coverage universes to find stocks that deserve to be rescued because even valid concerns may have landed too early and too roughly.

"While difficult to disprove the bear narrative in software given fears are more about genAI implications for the industry in the out years, we contend that any meaningful disruption will likely play out over a much longer timeline than investors anticipate," Deutsche Bank's Brad Zelnick said in a Wednesday note.

Meanwhile, Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research, reaffirmed his "overweight" recommendation, effectively a bullish posture, for financial stocks, characterizing the recent decline in the sector as a "sell first, ask questions later" reaction.

Alright, Monday February 16th, President's Day in the US, Family Day in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Most people are off today so it's a good time to tackle this "AI disruption fear" mania gripping investors and traders alike.

I can sum it up like this: "The 'AI tsunami' has arrived, it will rip apart many industries, not just software, it will decimate everything in its path, capitalism as we know it is ending, be prepared for massive structural changes the likes of which you've never seen before, yada yada yada"

Complete and utter horsesh*t if you ask me but proponents of the AI disruption trade are pounding the table and truth is the market is definitely in a "shoot first, ask questions later" mode.

Well folks, the market isn't always right, it wasn't right heading into the GFC, it wasn't right about the pandemic destroying the world and in my humble opinion, it's not right about Saas-Pocalypse.

But Wall Street always needs a story, brokers gang up to hit stocks so they can turn around to sell them on the cheap to their long list of elite hedge fund clients and by the time the tide turns and everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief, it's over, the elite hedgies made off like bandits and everyone else is still too scared to jump back into the market.

Now, I can't state for sure the software selloff on Wall Street is overdone but it sure feels like that to me:

Below, look at the list of the worst-performing US large cap stocks year-to-date (full list here):

It's mostly the sheer annihilation of software shares and the baby is being thrown out with the bathwater.

Next, check out the 5-year weekly chart of the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV):

And really dig deep into the top ten holdings of this ETF which make up 60% of the assets:

Also keep in mind many names like Snowflake and others I covered above don't appear on this list of the top ten:

I can go on and on but you get the picture, total destruction, multi-year lows, software is dead, long live hardware in the AI renaissance era.

Now, to be clear, the trader in me says stay away from this sector until things stabilize but I nibbled on IGV because I truly believe people are losing their marbles over this AI disruption trade and fears of a Saas-Pocaplyspe are way overblown.

I know, the speed at which AI is transforming the world is unparalleled and I have no idea of what is coming next.

No, I don't and neither do people who claim AI is taking over the world and hyperscalers are toast.

When I ask all my doctor friends if AI is taking over medicine like Elon Musk is warning of, they all tell me: "I wish he was right but it's the opposite, we have more work than ever, it's depressing."

Last night I wasted an hour going to put gas in my wife's car and waiting patiently to wash the exterior.

A whole goddamn hour which I used productively to watch Jordi Visser's latest weekly clip on how the Supersonic Tsunami Hits SaaS (embedded below).

Good clip, don't agree with a lot of his insights/ recommendations, think he's more interested in being right than making money but I always listen to his insights even if I don't agree with him (there is a lot of good stuff here worth noting).

Then I had a eureka moment: "If AI is taking over the world, where are the robots that fly to my house to put gas in the car and wash its exterior? Where are the robots taking over plumbers, electricians, landscapers and greedy contractors?"

Goddammit, AI isn't moving fast enough in areas that count!! -:)

I'm being facetious, of course, I know AI is moving fast and will change the way we live, hopefully for the better, but there's SO MUCH AI BS out there that I just had to write this comment and tell people to cool down and don't be swept into the AI hysteria.

Are hyperscalers spending a ton of money to be AI leaders? Are they incurring massive debt? You bet and it will impact their buyback power but maybe they know something others don't and when this AI revolution begins and they start monetizing on it in a massive way, maybe they will be proven right.

Are there going to be winners and losers in AI? Absolutely, there always are winners and losers after every technological disruption. Jordi Visser brought up Joseph Schumpeter's "creative destruction" and it's happening as we speak.

Still, this isn't gong to happen in a year, it will take ten years before we figure out how this AI disruption plays itself out.

Again, do not get swept up by the AI hysteria, listen carefully to all views but always ask yourself "are they talking up their book or do they really know what's going on?"

On that note, watch the clips I embedded below and enjoy the rest of your Monday, I will cover top funds' Q1 activity on Friday as rest of week is reserved to pensions.

First, in this week's video, Jordi Visser breaks down why he thinks we are now in the midst of what Elon Musk called the "supersonic tsunami", and why the acceleration phase of AI is rewriting market structure in real time.

"Over the past week, the disruption spread beyond SaaS into insurance brokers, wealth management platforms, commercial real estate services, and trucking stocks. 115 S&P 500 names fell at least 7% over a rolling 8-day window, many near 52-week highs, a dispersion pattern we haven't seen since the dot-com rotation in 2000."

Next, $285 billion in market capitalization. Vanished in a week. Capgemini -9%. Publicis -9.2%. Teleperformance -5.8%. And it's not a general crash, it's surgical. A single company triggered the movement.

Anthropic has just launched a two-pronged offensive that changes the rules of the game: Cowork (an autonomous agent that works within your existing systems) and Opus 4.6 (the smartest model on the market). SaaS, IT services companies, consulting firms: all in the crosshairs (Feb 7th).

Third, Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg jon the All-In podcast to discuss AI trends and whether thisis a debt spiral or new golden age.

Fourth, Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities says the recent software selloff is overblown. He says major players like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle will benefit from the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout and he sees many buying opportunities.

Fifth, Jonathan Golub of Seaport Research Partners says the tech basket of stocks is "incredibly attractive."

Lastly, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Portfolio Solutions CIO Jim Caron says the chance of the recent selloff in software-related stocks to create contagion is relatively low and it's a great time to be a stock picker instead of a passive investor.

Update: On Tuesday, more selling pressure on the the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) which is dow 3% for the day. It touched a low of $79.91 and is about to retest April lows of $76.88 if selling pressure continues this week:

Anything can happen but stocks do not go down in a straight line so I expect a bounce and then we will see if the IGV holds and grinds higher or pops and drops again.

Also, as AI fears continue to rattle markets and the tech landscape, Wall Street has dubbed these concerns as the "SaaS-pocalypse."

Citizens JMP Securities CEO Mark Lehmann shares his assessment on how he views this transitory phase for the tech ecosystem and software companies. Watch this interview here.

CAAT Puts Derek Dobson on Leave, Names Kevin Fahey as Acting CEO and Plan Manager

Pension Pulse - February 13, 2026 - 2:08pm

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports CAAT puts CEO on leave, names new chair and vice-chair amid governance crisis:

The CAAT Pension Plan has placed chief executive officer Derek Dobson on administrative leave, installed an acting CEO and appointed a new chair and vice-chair to its board of trustees as a governance crisis at the $23-billion pension plan has spurred an overhaul of its leadership.
Mr. Dobson is being sidelined, effective immediately, after some of the plan’s top executives raised concerns about his conduct as well as oversight by CAAT’s board of trustees, setting off multiple investigations into possible governance failures.
Kevin Fahey, who was promoted to chief investment officer in late January, has been appointed as CAAT’s acting CEO and plan manager, CAAT said in a statement on Friday.
The pension plan also named trustee Audrey Wubbenhorst as its new board chair, and Janet Greenwood as vice-chair.
Previous board chair Don Smith was removed from his role earlier this month by the labour group that appointed him, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), days after The Globe and Mail reported that concerns about board oversight and decision-making had spurred investigations into the plan’s governance.
Kareen Stangherlin, the previous vice-chair, has resigned as a CAAT trustee, the pension plan said Friday.
“The CAAT board of trustees has determined that these changes are in the best interests of the plan and are necessary to restore stakeholder trust in CAAT’s leadership, governance and plan management,” Ms. Wubbenhorst said in a statement.
She added that Mr. Fahey is “a veteran CAAT executive” who has worked at the plan for more than 16 years and is well suited “to lead the organization through the current period of significant change.”
As recently as last week, a CAAT spokesperson said the pension plan’s board of trustees continued “to have confidence” in Mr. Dobson and his ability to lead the organization.
But CAAT’s board met on Wednesday evening, two sources said, setting in motion the latest changes to the pension plan’s leadership.
The Globe is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to discuss internal matters.
CAAT is a multiemployer pension plan that serves Ontario’s colleges and more than 800 public- and private-sector employers. It has a total of about 125,000 members. The Globe has been a participating employer in CAAT since 2022.
Mr. Dobson had been CAAT’s CEO since 2009, and faced scrutiny over a $1.6-million vacation payment he received last year that was at odds with company policy, as well as the handling of a personal relationship he had been having with a CAAT employee for more than a year.
The vacation payout, made as compensation for unused time off, was the third such payment Mr. Dobson received over a period of several years, sources said. The board approved those payments despite internal guidelines that limit how much vacation time CAAT employees can carry over or have paid out.
CAAT’s board also allowed Mr. Dobson’s workplace relationship to continue, putting guardrails in place to try to prevent perceived conflicts of interest, but it remained a point of tension among the plan’s staff.
An external expert hired by CAAT in December has been conducting a governance review that is expected to be completed later in February.
“The governance-related issues subject to the review do not affect the Plan’s financial health or its ability to deliver secure, predictable pensions to members,” CAAT’s statement said.
The most recent financial disclosures for CAAT said the plan has a 124-per-cent funded status, meaning that it has $1.24 in assets for every dollar it expects to pay to members in pension benefits.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario – which oversees the province’s pension plans – has also been probing what took place at CAAT and speaking with employees in recent weeks, two sources said.
With Mr. Dobson on leave, nearly all of CAAT’s senior leadership team has changed or left the plan over the past four weeks, leaving a leadership void that must now be filled by a board that has also come under pressure.
It has been a jarring period for CAAT, as Mr. Dobson has been the public face of the plan through a period of ambitious expansion that brought employers from a number of different industries on board. Morale at the plan has taken a major hit as long-tenured, senior leaders departed with little explanation, four sources said.
“We have gone through a lot recently, and many CAATsters have been understandably upset by it all,” CAAT said in an internal e-mail to employees on Friday. “The board determined the best way to restore stability was through this change.”
The turmoil at CAAT first came to a head internally in November, when three of the pension plan’s top executives approached the board with a number of concerns about governance, urging trustees to investigate them, multiple sources said.
The internal tensions only spilled into public view in January when those three executives – chief investment officer Asif Haque, chief financial officer Mike Dawson and chief pension officer Evan Howard – abruptly left the plan on Jan. 19.
CAAT promoted Mr. Fahey to CIO and appointed Scott Blakey, who had only recently stepped down from CAAT’s board, as interim executive vice-president and chief people and culture officer. Chief strategy officer Jillian Kennedy remained in place.

Matthew Sellers of HR Reporter also reports CAAT Pension Plan CEO put on leave as board launches governance overhaul:

CAAT Pension Plan has sidelined its long‑time CEO and reshuffled its board leadership as it navigates an ongoing governance review tied to a vacation payment made to the top executive.

The board of trustees confirmed that CEO and plan manager Derek Dobson has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, while it moves to “restore stakeholder trust in CAAT’s leadership, governance and plan management.”

To provide continuity, the board has elevated chief investment officer Kevin Fahey to acting CEO and plan manager. Fahey has spent more than 16 years with CAAT and has been a key figure in building the plan’s investment strategy.
CEO removed, CIO steps in at CAAT
In addition to his role at CAAT, Fahey sits on the investment committee for the Teachers' Pension Plan Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, and has previously chaired both the Pension Investment Association of Canada and the Salvation Army of Canada’s Investment Advisory Committee. He holds a commerce degree from Queen’s University, an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School and is a CFA charter holder.

Board chair Audrey Wubbenhorst said the leadership changes are intended to steady the organization through a sensitive period.

“The CAAT Board of Trustees has determined that these changes are in the best interests of the Plan and are necessary to restore stakeholder trust in CAAT’s leadership, governance and plan management. Kevin is a veteran CAAT executive with a strong track record of high performance and his extensive experience and institutional knowledge make him ideally suited to lead the organization through the current period of significant change.”

The recent exits follow other changes in CAAT’s leadership. The plan’s CHRO left in June 2024, and its senior vice‑president of technology and IT services management as well as its head of policy and government relations departed earlier this year, according to the Globe.

Julie Giraldi was CHRO at CAAT from 2020 to 2025, according to her LinkedIn profile
New chair and vice‑chair take the helm
The governance shakeup extends beyond the CEO’s office. Wubbenhorst, an employee‑appointed trustee since 2023 and co‑chair of the finance and administration committee, has been named chair of the board, succeeding Don Smith.

Wubbenhorst is a communications faculty member at Humber Polytechnic and previously spent more than a decade at BMO Bank of Montreal in HR, communications and commercial banking. She has also served as a school trustee and on multiple boards, including Humber Polytechnic, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Holland Bloorview Hospital’s Research Ethics Board and CNIB Lake Joe’s Advisory Board. She holds an MA, an MBA and the ICD.D designation.

Employer‑appointed trustee Janet Greenwood, who joined the board in 2023, steps into the vice‑chair role following the resignation of former vice‑chair and trustee Kareen Stangherlin.

Governance review tied to CEO’s vacation pay

The leadership changes come as CAAT’s board oversees an independent review of its governance policies, procedures and practices. The review was initiated after concerns surfaced over a vacation payment involving the CEO.

The board has emphasized that the governance issues under examination are not related to the plan’s funding strength or its ability to pay benefits, and says it expects the external review to wrap up later in February.

“Good governance is the backbone of a pension plan’s stability and strength, and the foundation for trust between the plan and its sponsors, members and all other stakeholders,” said Wubbenhorst. “The Board will carefully consider findings and recommendations of the independent review and remains focused as always on strengthening Plan governance to ensure it aligns with industry best practices.”
Financial position remains robust, says CAAT
Despite the turmoil at the top, CAAT is underscoring that its financial footing remains solid. Recent independent valuations show the plan 124 per cent funded on a going‑concern basis, meaning it holds $1.24 in assets for every dollar of pension promised to members. With more than $23 billion in assets and over $6 billion in funding reserves, stress testing indicates a greater than 99 per cent probability the plan will stay fully funded over the next two decades.

Founded in 1967 to serve Ontario’s college system, the CAAT Pension Plan has since expanded to more than 800 participating employers across 20 industries in the for‑profit, non‑profit and broader public sectors, and now counts over 125,000 members.

As the governance review proceeds and the new leadership team settles in, the board says its priority is maintaining benefit security for members while reinforcing confidence in how the plan is overseen.

Earlier today, CAAT issued a statement stating the CEO has been placed on leave and new acting CEO and new Chair and Vice Chair have been appointed:

Derek Dobson placed on administrative leave effective immediately
Kevin Fahey, current Chief Investment Officer, appointed as acting CEO and Plan Manager
Audrey Wubbenhorst and Janet Greenwood appointed Chair and Vice Chair, respectively

Toronto, February 13, 2026 – The Board of Trustees of the CAAT Pension Plan (“CAAT” or “the Plan”) today announced the appointment of a new acting Chief Executive Officer and Plan Manager, and that Derek Dobson has been placed on administrative leave. CAAT also announced it has appointed a new Chair and Vice Chair of its Board of Trustees.

Mr. Dobson’s administrative leave is effective immediately, and Kevin Fahey, who most recently served as CAAT’s Chief Investment Officer and has spent more than 16 years at the Plan, has been appointed as acting CEO to ensure CAAT remains focused on executing its strategy and serving its sponsors and members.

Audrey Wubbenhorst has been appointed as Chair. Ms. Wubbenhorst succeeds Don Smith. Janet Greenwood has been appointed as Vice-Chair, replacing Kareen Stangherlin, who was Vice-Chair and who has resigned as a CAAT trustee.

Speaking about Mr. Fahey’s appointment, Ms. Wubbenhorst said: “The CAAT Board of Trustees has determined that these changes are in the best interests of the Plan and are necessary to restore stakeholder trust in CAAT’s leadership, governance and plan management. Kevin is a veteran CAAT executive with a strong track record of high performance and his extensive experience and institutional knowledge make him ideally suited to lead the organization through the current period of significant change.”

In addition to his service at CAAT, Mr. Fahey sits on the Investment Committee for Teachers' Pension Plan Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Previously, he was the Chair of the Pension Investment Association of Canada and also chaired the Salvation Army of Canada’s Investment Advisory Committee. Mr. Fahey holds a BCom from Queen’s University, an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ms. Wubbenhorst has been an employee-appointed Trustee since 2023 and is Co-Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee. Ms. Wubbenhorst is a faculty member at Humber Polytechnic where she teaches communications. Prior to joining Humber, she worked for more than a dozen years at BMO Bank of Montreal in human resources, communications and commercial banking. She has also served as a school trustee and on several boards including Humber Polytechnic, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Holland Bloorview Hospital's Research Ethics Board and CNIB Lake Joe's Advisory Board. Ms. Wubbenhorst has an MA, MBA and ICD.D designation.

Ms. Greenwood has been an employer-appointed Trustee since 2023 and has served as a Co-Chair on the Investment Committee and a member of the Governance Committee. She has more than three decades of global wealth management expertise in corporate and pension fund management, institutional investment, governance, business development and risk management. Her portfolio career includes roles as Committee Chair, Co-Chair, Independent Director, Director of Special Purpose Corporations, and also at charitable and not-for-profit organizations. Ms. Greenwood holds business degrees, investment certifications and holds the ICD.D designation.

In addition to the appointments of Mr. Fahey, Ms. Wubbenhorst and Ms. Greenwood, CAAT also provided an update on its independent governance review, which was established by the Board after it became aware of concerns related to a vacation payment to Mr. Dobson. The governance-related issues subject to the review do not affect the Plan’s financial health or its ability to deliver secure, predictable pensions to members, and CAAT continues to expect that it will be completed later in February.

“Good governance is the backbone of a pension plan’s stability and strength, and the foundation for trust between the plan and its sponsors, members and all other stakeholders,” Ms. Wubbenhorst said. “The Board will carefully consider findings and recommendations of the independent review and remains focused as always on strengthening Plan governance to ensure it aligns with industry best practices.”

CAAT's most recent independent valuations show the Plan at a 124% funded status. This means for every $1 of pension benefits CAAT has promised to members, the Plan has $1.24 in assets. With more than $23 billion in assets and over $6 billion in funding reserves, the Plan is well positioned to withstand market volatility, demographic change, and other risks. Stress testing confirms a greater than 99% probability that the Plan will remain fully funded over the next 20 years.
About CAAT:
Established in 1967, the CAAT Pension Plan is an independent, jointly governed plan that offers highly desirable modern defined benefit pensions. Originally created to support the Ontario college system, the CAAT Plan now proudly serves more than 800 participating employers in 20 industries, including the for-profit, non-profit, and broader public sectors. It currently has more than 125,000 members. The CAAT Plan is respected for its pension and investment management expertise and focus on stability and benefit security. On January 1, 2025, the Plan was 124% funded on a going-concern basis.

It's Friday, I typically reserve Fridays to discuss market action and I enjoy that but sometimes you need to cover important pension matters and this is definitely important for CAAT members.

I'll try to be brief but in a nutshell, I'm not surprised and the Board led by a new Chair and Vice Chair is doing the right thing and issued a perfectly worded statement.

Importantly, given the events that have transpired which I covered in detail here and here, I am not shocked that Derek Dobson was placed on administrative leave effective immediately.

The Board led by new Chair Audrey Wubbenhorst and Vice Chair Janet Greenwood also did the right thing naming Kevin Fahey, the CIO, as acting CEO and Plan Manager.

Kevin is a seasoned professional with impeccable credentials, CAAT members and employees know and trust him and in doing this, they're restoring trust at the organization.

This is your number one job as a Board when a governance crisis erupts, restore trust as soon as possible as you await the findings of an independent governance report.

I'm actually impressed at how swiftly and diligently the Board responded, they immediately went into action naming a new Chair and Vice Chair, called an urgent meeting Wednesday evening and then moved to place the CEO on administrative leave while naming a new acting CEO.

Take note all board members, this is exactly what should have happened when the three senior execs expressed a loss of confidence in their leader: everyone should have immediately been placed on administrative leave pending the findings of an independent governance report.

I also like what the new Chair Audrey Wubbenhorst said in the statement:

“Good governance is the backbone of a pension plan’s stability and strength, and the foundation for trust between the plan and its sponsors, members and all other stakeholders. The Board will carefully consider findings and recommendations of the independent review and remains focused as always on strengthening Plan governance to ensure it aligns with industry best practices.”

This isn't only a CAAT specific issue, everyone needs to make sure their governance is reviewed periodically and changed to reflect industry leading standards.

In my opinion, great fiduciaries are also champions of great governance.

So where does CAAT go from here? I think Kevin Fahey will be extremely busy over the next few weeks and we will all have to wait for the independent governance report to see the next steps.

I can confidently tell CAAT members however to be patient, what is happening now seems like abrupt change and it is but the organization will come out of this a lot stronger.

That's all I have to say on this matter today, I am fully supportive of CAAT's new Chair and Vice Chair and acting CEO Kevin Fahey and think over the long run, this will be a governance blip and the organization will thrive over the coming years.

What about markets, Leo? Aren't you going to cover markets? I had a whole topic titled "Is the AI Disruption Trade Overdone?" and maybe I'll do something over the weekend but I'm tired and need a break from these crazy volatile markets.

Below, AI disruption fears hit Wall Street, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower with tech and software stocks under renewed pressure. But Wedbush Securities Global Head of Tech Research Dan Ives tells CNBC AI is a headwind for software, but that “software armageddon” is overblown.

Next, the CNBC Halftime Report Investment Committee debate how they are navigating the "Sell U.S." trade as emerging markets beat the S&P last year how you should position your portfolio.

Lastly, Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine Immersion and Co-Founder & Head of Research at Fundstrat, says that while the US jobs report was better than expected, job losses might follow due to the recent tech sell-off. He also expects the new Federal Reserve under Trump nominee Kevin Warsh to be more dovish.

CPP Investments Acquires 50% Stake in Peru's Inkia Energy

Pension Pulse - February 12, 2026 - 8:02pm

The Canadian Press reports CPP Investments buying 50 per cent stake in Peruvian power company Inkia Energy:

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has signed a deal to invest in Peruvian private power generation company Inkia Energy alongside I Squared Capital.
Under the agreement, CPP Investments has agreed to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Inkia at a total enterprise value of US$3.4 billion.
I Squared, which has been invested in Inkia since 2017, will hold the other 50 per cent.

Inkia operates a diversified portfolio through its subsidiaries Kallpa Generación S.A. and Orazul Energy Peru S.A.

Bill Rogers, managing director and head of sustainable energies at CPP Investments, says Inkia operates a resilient power generation platform that aligns well with the fund's long-term approach to investing in high-quality businesses.

The deal is subject to closing conditions and government approvals.

Earlier today CPP Investments issued a press release stating it will invest in Inkia alongside I Squared Capital:

TORONTO, CANADA & MIAMI, FLORIDA (February 12, 2026) – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”) today announced that it will invest alongside I Squared Capital (“I Squared”) in Inkia Energy (“Inkia”), a Peruvian private power generation company in Peru. Under the terms of the transaction, CPP Investments has agreed to acquire a 50% ownership interest in Inkia at a total enterprise value of US$3.4 billion, with the remaining 50% ownership stake to be acquired by an I Squared-led continuation vehicle.

Inkia operates a diversified and reliable generation portfolio of 2.6GW through its subsidiaries Kallpa Generación S.A. and Orazul Energy Peru S.A., and plays a critical role in supporting Peru’s energy demand driven by a world-class mining sector. CPP Investments and I Squared share a long-term strategic vision to partner in the development of Inkia’s more than 4GW pipeline of wind, solar, gas, and battery storage projects, supporting its continued growth

“Inkia operates a highly resilient power generation platform that aligns well with our long-term approach to investing in high-quality businesses that can deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for the CPP Fund,” said Bill Rogers, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Energies, CPP Investments. “The transaction reflects CPP Investments’ continued focus on long-duration power generation assets with strong governance and sustainability practices, alongside our experienced partner I Squared.”

I Squared has been invested in Inkia since 2017, supporting the company’s transformation into a scaled, diversified and strategically important generation platform. Under I Squared’s leadership, Inkia successfully divested all non-core assets across 10 jurisdictions in Latin America while expanding its core Peruvian generation business from 1.6GW to 2.6GW today. I Squared will continue to play an active role in Inkia’s governance and strategic direction.

“Inkia is a developer at its core and represents exactly the kind of essential infrastructure platform we seek to build and grow over the long term,” said Gautam Bhandari, Global Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner, I Squared. “This partnership with CPP Investments reflects our shared conviction in the long-term fundamentals of Peru’s power market and Inkia’s ability to play a leading role in meeting the country’s evolving energy needs. Together, we see significant opportunity to continue investing in the platform and supporting Peru’s energy transition.”

CPP Investments has been investing in Latin America since 2006 and has a disciplined approach to investing across asset classes in the region. I Squared has a long-standing presence in Latin American infrastructure, with deep operating experience across energy, utilities and transportation.

The transaction is subject to closing conditions and government approvals.

About CPP Investments

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments™) is a professional investment management organization that manages the Fund in the best interest of the more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, investments are made around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. On September 30, 2025, the Fund totaled C$777.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com or follow CPP Investments on LinkedIn, Instagram or on X @CPPInvestments.

About I Squared Capital
I Squared Capital is a leading independent global infrastructure investor dedicated to the mid-market, managing more than $50 billion in assets. Founded in 2012, I Squared has evolved into one of the most diverse infrastructure investors in the world with investments across power & utilities; transportation & logistics; digital infrastructure; environmental infrastructure and social infrastructure, providing essential services to millions of people around the world. Today, our portfolio includes over 100 companies operating in more than 70 countries. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has a global team across offices in Abu Dhabi, London, Munich, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei. Learn more at www.isquare Capitaldcapital.com.

When you think of Peru, you think of Lima, Machu Picchu, Cusco, Arequipa, the Sacred Valley and other beautiful sites to visit for the ultimate digital detox.

You don't think "power generation" but Peru is growing fast and needs power to keep up with growing demand.

It's an interesting asset for CPP Investments to acquire and they obviously did their homework:

“Inkia operates a highly resilient power generation platform that aligns well with our long-term approach to investing in high-quality businesses that can deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for the CPP Fund,” said Bill Rogers, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Energies, CPP Investments. “The transaction reflects CPP Investments’ continued focus on long-duration power generation assets with strong governance and sustainability practices, alongside our experienced partner I Squared.” ...

“Inkia is a developer at its core and represents exactly the kind of essential infrastructure platform we seek to build and grow over the long term,” said Gautam Bhandari, Global Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner, I Squared. “This partnership with CPP Investments reflects our shared conviction in the long-term fundamentals of Peru’s power market and Inkia’s ability to play a leading role in meeting the country’s evolving energy needs. Together, we see significant opportunity to continue investing in the platform and supporting Peru’s energy transition.”

CPP Investments loves long duration power assets, just ask Bill Rogers, his team is always looking to acquire more all over the world.

The biggest risk I see here is currency risk which CPP Investments can hedge if it wants (don't know much about the Peruvian sol).

As far as I Squared Capital, it has mid-market experience and an innovative approach to building investment platforms.

The firm invests globally including emerging markets and has a long list of successful investments.

In short, CPP Investments chose the right partner to enter into Peru's power generation business.

Below, Dr. Sadek Wahba, Chairman & Managing Partner of I Squared Capital, Juan Carlos Monterrey, Special Representative for Climate Change & National Climate Change Director of the Ministry of Environment of the Government of Panama, Gregorio Esteban, Vice Chairman of Santa Ana Global, and Stephen Keppel, President of the PVBLIC Foundation, join Jill Malandrino on Nasdaq TradeTalks to discuss sustainable and scalable infrastructure and climate investing solutions (4 months ago).

Next, I Squared Capital’s Sadek Wahba on why governments must set the rules but let private investors take the risk in future infrastructure projects (8 months ago).

Third, Sadek Wahba talks to CNBC's Diana Olick on how sustainable infrastructure is critical to deal with an earth in crisis (2 years ago).

Lastly, Machu Picchu is a testament to the power and ingenuity of the Inca empire. Built without the use of mortar, metal tools, or the wheel, Machu Picchu stands as an archaeological wonder of the ancient world. But why was it built—and deserted?

Watch Groups

David Colla Appointed Global Head of Credit Investments at CPP Investments

A Discussion With OMERS CEO and CFO/ CSO on Their 2025 Results

Top Funds' Activity in Q4 2025

OMERS' Economic Contribution to Ontario Grows to $15.3 Billion

OMERS Private Equity Sells Paradigm to Patient Square Capital

Why Are Canada's Top Pension Funds Still Heavily Invested in the US?

AI Disruption Fear Runs Amok

CAAT Puts Derek Dobson on Leave, Names Kevin Fahey as Acting CEO and Plan Manager

CPP Investments Acquires 50% Stake in Peru's Inkia Energy

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