Statistics Canada says the market value of Canadian employer-sponsored pension funds totalled $1.2 trillion at the end of the second quarter, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.
Pension fund investments in stocks declined 1.8% in the second quarter, as the value of shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange fell 2.7% during the same period.
An increase in the value of real estate assets (+1.9%) and short-term investments (+6.5%) partially offset declines in the value of stocks, bond holdings (-1.9%) and mortgages (-2.8%).
Foreign investments rose 1.1% in the second quarter, as the share of foreign investments held in Canadian pension funds increased to 33.3% of total pension fund assets.
Total pension fund revenue declined 13.1%, primarily as a result of a 54.8% decrease in net profits on the sale of securities. Net losses on the sale of securities totalled $2.1 billion and drove expenditures up 16.1% in the second quarter. Net income fell by 35.1%, from $20.6 billion in the first quarter to $13.4 billion in the second quarter.
Pension fund contributions in the second quarter totalled close to $14 billion, up 4.5% from the previous quarter. Benefits paid to retirees increased 3.8%, to $12.2 billion.
Slightly more than six million Canadian workers are members of employer pension plans. Of this group, five million are members of trusteed plans.
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