The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System generated a net investment return of 2.2% during the first six months of 2025.
For the period of Jan. 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025, the pension fund returned $2.2B (C$3.1B), increasing its net assets to $101.2B (C$140.7B), noted a press release. The cumulative 10-year net investment income was $50.5B (C$70.2B).
“OMERS had a positive start in what was a particularly challenging environment for investors,” said Blake Hutcheson, OMERS’ president and chief executive officer, in the release. “As we manage through the current short-term challenges, in both public and private investing businesses this team continues to unlock opportunities that deliver both immediate and long-term value. Over the five years that we have reported our mid-year investment update, our talented global team and investment strategies have delivered an average annual net return of 8.7%.”
While a decline of more than 5% in the U.S. dollar detracted from returns across asset classes, six of seven asset classes delivered positive results over the period. The release also highlighted that OMERS’ active decision to hedge its currency exposure added nearly 1% to the portfolio and helped to mitigate impact of the declining U.S. dollar on the portfolio.
Infrastructure saw the most significant return (3.6%), followed by private credit (2.7%), public equities (2.4%), government bonds (2.1%), public credit (1.6%), and real estate (1.1%).
However, private equity returns lagged (-1.3%). “Private investment valuations and transaction activity, particularly in private equities and real estate, continue to be held back by uncertainty in the global marketplace,” said Jonathan Simmons, OMERS’ chief financial and strategy officer, in the release.
The fund’s focus on deploying into fixed income assets — such as government bonds, public and private credit — resulted in gains, primarily due to interest income and a decline in bond yields. Meanwhile, core large-cap holdings in financials, communications services, and information technology sectors helped deliver positive results in the public equities portfolio.
“While we expect continued market instability for the remainder of 2025, we believe our diversification in quality assets positions us well to see through this cycle, with ample liquidity to pursue opportunities that meet our objective of paying pensions for generations to come,” said Hutcheson. “We proudly serve 640,000 Ontarians and we work every day to build lasting value that will serve them throughout their retirement.”
