Originally from our sister publication, InvestmentReview.com

Of all the pension funds in Canada, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec was hit particularly hard by the 2008 financial crisis, reporting a disastrous -25% return that was, in large part, due to a $13 billion investment in frozen asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP).

As a keynote speaker at the 2012 Risk Management Conference, Claude Bergeron, the Caisse’s executive vice-president and chief risk officer, addressed the substantial steps the pension fund has taken to overhaul its risk management systems and approach, creating a risk-based culture that spans every aspect of the organization’s operations. In this interview, Bergeron addresses the specifics of the Caisse’s new approach to risk management and the challenges of rebuilding trust post-2008.