Thanks to foreign assets, pensions gained in Q3

By James Langton | March 15, 2023 | Last updated on March 15, 2023
1 min read
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Boosted by returns on foreign assets, pension fund assets rose in the third quarter of 2022, Statistics Canada reports.

The market value of pension fund assets increased by 2.3% to around $2.1 trillion, a gain of $46.8 billion, StatsCan said.

Each of the five largest asset classes — bonds, equities, real estate, infrastructure and “other” assets — saw their value rise in the third quarter, the agency reported.

The strongest returns were in the alternative asset classes, whereas bond assets were up 0.6% and equities gained 0.9%.

The gains all came in foreign assets too, StatsCan said.

Canadian bonds and equities were both down in the quarter, driving a 0.4% decline in domestic assets overall, while foreign assets gained 3.4%.

On an annual basis, pension assets were down by 1.8% in the third quarter, as domestic assets declined by 5.8%, outpacing the 0.9% increase in foreign assets.

StatsCan also reported that pension fund revenues dropped by 20.5% in the third quarter, “mainly because of net realized losses on fixed income investments and financial derivatives.”

While expenditures also declined in the third quarter, pension funds posted a net loss of $5.4 billion in the quarter, the agency said. This marked an increase from a net loss of $3.4 billion in the previous quarter.

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James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.