The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has announced its returns for the first half of the year, earning 3.6%. Net of fees, that’s a gain of $5.3 billion.
Add in $900 million in net contribution by depositors, and net assets under management rose $6.2 billion, to $157.9 billion.
“These solid returns in the first half of the year were achieved in a climate characterized by gradual market deterioration; they reflect a portfolio structure closely aligned with the environment,” said Michael Sabia, president and CEO of the Caisse. “All of the Caisse’s investment sectors contributed positively to the half-year returns.”
Sabia added that recent volatility will persist “for some time” but that the Caisse remains focused on risk management, maintaining liquidity and concentrating on its core business activities.
“The Caisse is better positioned now than before to face this challenging climate. However, since the Caisse is not immune to market turmoil, it must continue to exercise caution while navigating through such conditions,” he said. “Although the current situation presents many challenges, difficult markets also bring investment opportunities for a long-term investor like the Caisse.”
The Caisse’s overall portfolio return for the two years ended June 30, 2011, is 14.0% per annum, beating its benchmark portfolio by 2.7% per annum. The portfolio’s cumulative value added over two years stood at $6.6 billion. For the first half of 2011, the benchmark portfolio return was 3.7%, representing a variance of 0.1% from that of the Caisse.