Updated with correction
Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Montreal, returned a net 10.4% on its investments in 2019 and reported net assets of C$340.1 billion ($255.6 billion) in a news release Thursday.
The return was 1.6 percentage points below its benchmark, which the pension fund attributed primarily to infrastructure and real estate returns, which are reflected in the real assets asset class, the release said.
For the five and 10 years ended Dec. 31, CDPQ returned an annualized net 8.1% and 9.2%, respectively.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, CDPQ returned a net 4.2%.
By asset class, equities posted the strongest return for the year, at a net 15.3%, followed by fixed income at 8.9% and real assets at 1%.
As of Dec. 31, the actual allocation was: 49.1% equities, 30.3% fixed income and 19.8% real assets, with the rest in asset allocation and overlay strategies.
"We expect the next decade to be more challenging than the past one, during which all investors benefited from the longest bull market in history," said Charles Emond, president and CEO of CDPQ, in the news release. "In the context of a growing gap between real economic performance and market performance, and multiple indicators prompting us to be cautious, it will be important for our strategy to continue evolving while we manage responsibly and with agility."
