The market value of Canadian employer-sponsored pension funds dropped to $1.06 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2011, down 1.7% from Q2, according to Statistics Canada.
Pension fund investments in stocks declined 9.3%, following similar losses on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the same period. This decline was offset in part by a 5.6% increase in the value of federal and provincial bonds holdings.
Declines in the value of foreign stocks and bonds reduced the foreign investment portion of pension funds by 6.1%; however, Canadian assets edged up 0.2% with the increase in the value of government bond holdings.
Revenues in Q3 fell 28.4% as a result of reduced profits on the sale of securities and declines in investment income and contributions. With losses on the sale of securities driving expenditures up 17.6%, net income fell from $12.9 billion to $1.3 billion.
Employer and employee pension fund contributions decreased 13.8% to $10.7 billion in the third quarter. Benefits paid to retirees increased marginally to $11 billion.