OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, has closed a US$750 million venture capital fund. The transatlantic fund is investing in companies related to financial systems, insurance, property, logistics, health and workplace technology in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and other countries in Europe, raising series-A to series-C financing. […]
With the coronavirus pandemic causing pain for employers and employees across the country, many organizations want to help out those in need. But can pension funds go as far as making financial donations to charities? Last week, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced it’s donating $300,000 to five organizations for coronavirus relief, […]
With a world in turmoil, some of Canada’s public pension plans and investment managers are considering how they can use their economic clout to help. The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. realized there was a responsibility in its staff working from home because of the coronavirus. Normally, staff are encouraged each year to take a day of […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is making a credit agreement with Knightsbridge Capital Group, an asset-based lender in Vancouver. “As BCI builds out our direct lending business for our clients, we value working with successful local businesses such as Knightsbridge Capital Group,” said Chris Beauchemin, vice-president of fixed income and foreign exchange at BCI. […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is buying a stake in U.K.-based investment analytics provider ClearMacro Ltd. The company provides analytics tools designed for asset managers and other professional investors. “BCI has, in recent years, firmly established our in-house investing capabilities across asset classes,” said Mihail Garchev, vice-president of total fund management at the BCI, in a press […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is acquiring a significant minority stake in Waterlogic, a company that designs, manufactures, distributes and services purified drinking water dispensers. The investment is providing Waterlogic with capital to support growth and become a leader in bottleless workplace hydration. “We are pleased to be working alongside a talented management team […]
In the investment space, readers were focused on the moves of the big public pension funds and real estate investment in 2019, with the top three most-read stories tackling those topics. Benefits Canada rounds up the industry’s favourite investment stories of the year: 1. Canadian DB plans return median 1.7 per cent in Q3 2. Hugh O’Reilly stepping down from OPTrust 3. OPTrust partners […]
As private equity becomes a more sizeable part of Canadian pension portfolios, the British Columbia Investment Management Corp.’s resources and staffing are growing with it. In April 2016, when Jim Pittman joined the BCI as its senior vice-president of private equity, his group comprised six or seven people. Three and a half years later, the […]
The B.C. agency responsible for managing public-sector pension plan investments is constitutionally immune from remitting goods-and-services taxes related to those portfolios, the Supreme Court of Canada has decided. However, the top court ruled Friday the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, a Crown agency, still might be on the hook for GST payments to the federal […]
A new Canadian core real estate fund has attracted more than $1.25 billion in equity commitments in its first subscription tranche, materially exceeding targets. RBC Global Asset Management’s Canadian core real estate fund was announced in March 2019, along with the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and QuadReal Property Group. The fund brings together more […]