Investments

The Funds

Plan assets are invested either in the Balanced Fund or the Defined Retirement Benefit Fund (the "Funds"). These Funds are invested in accordance with the requirements of applicable legislation and are held and managed separate and apart from other University funds. A Pension Board oversees the investments and the financial management of the Funds.  Please refer to the Governance section of this website to find out more. 

The Balanced Fund

The Balanced Fund holds individual accounts for members of the Combination and Money Purchase Pension Plans.  These accounts include contributions of members and the university, as well as net investment returns. Members have a direct interest in the performance of the Balanced Fund, since the net returns directly affect members’ account balances.  The following unaudited performance Report (PDF) is updated each month, by the end of the following month. 

The Defined Retirement Benefit Fund

This fund holds the assets from which defined benefit pension and supplements are paid. 

The Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures

The Pension Board has established a Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures (the "Policy") to formulate those investment principles, guidelines and monitoring procedures that are appropriate to the needs and objectives of the Fund. The Policy is reviewed at least annually, and sets out the categories of permitted investments, diversification, asset mix and rate of return expectations. 

The Policy provides for the prudent investment of the Funds, and takes into account factors that may affect the funding and solvency of the Plans. The main long-term investment objectives set by the Pension Board, and accepted by the Plans' investment managers, are to secure the obligation of the Plans and the University for pension benefit payments and to earn an appropriate return on investments. Because the Combination Pension Plan includes both defined benefit and defined contribution components, this means balancing the need to preserve members' assets with the pursuit of long term investment returns. The Balanced Fund is invested with the objective of earning a net rate of return that over rolling four-year periods, exceeds a benchmark rate of return.  

For more information on investments, including asset mix, annualized rates of returns, investment managers, and more, please refer to the Annual Report.

Statement of Investment Beliefs

The Pension Board has developed the Statement of Investment Beliefs to guide decisions and investment decisions for the Combination Pension Plan and the Money Purchase Plan. This document may be viewed here.