The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System earned a net investment return of 4.4 per cent for the first six months of this year, helped by the performance of its investments in public equities and strong contributions from its holdings in private credit and infrastructure.
The fund had a good start to the year, reflecting the strength and diversification of the portfolio and a strategic decision to maintain currency exposure to the U.S. dollar, says Blake Hutcheson, chief executive officer of the OMERS.
Read: OMERS returns 4.6% for 2023, driven by equities, fixed income
The investment organization earned a 10.4 per cent return on public equities for the first six months of the year, while its public credit holdings earned 2.2 per cent. The fund’s private equity investments earned 3.9 per cent and private credit returned 7.8 per cent, while its infrastructure investments earned 4.1 per cent.
The OMERS says valuation losses hurt its real estate investments which lost 3.1 per cent for the period, while its holdings in government bonds fell 0.5 per cent as rising yields decreased their fair value. Net assets of the fund totalled $133.6 billion at June 30.
Read: OMERS pension benefits accounted for 9.3% of Ontario retirement income in 2023: report