Compare the latest returns from Canada's major public pension funds with the TSX, then see what five years reveal about risk, diversification, and retirement security.
What's on this page
A source-backed comparison of Canada's major public pension funds, their latest returns, five-year history, standout investments, and why the TSX is not a fair one-to-one test.
If your pension plan made money in 2025, that is good news. If it failed to match the TSX, that is not automatically bad news. Canada’s biggest public pension investors are not supposed to act like one giant Canadian stock ETF.
The S&P/TSX Composite total return climbed 31.7% in calendar 2025, including dividends. The calendar-year funds in this comparison all delivered positive returns, but none came close to that equity-market result. Their portfolios also had jobs the TSX does not: pay pensions, manage cash flows, protect against inflation, diversify across countries and asset classes, and keep the plan ready for a market shock.
Overall, 2025 was a spectacular year for Canadian public equities, while public pension funds delivered profitable but more diversified results.
What is a public pension fund?
A public pension fund is a large investment pool connected to a public-sector or jointly sponsored pension plan. Workers and employers contribute money. The fund invests it. The plan uses contributions and investment income to pay pensions to retired members, while also preparing for future benefits that may be paid for decades.
Many of the plans here are defined-benefit plans. That means the pension promise is based on a formula, such as salary and years of service, rather than simply being whatever happens to be in an individual investment account. The fund therefore has to manage the value of its assets against the estimated cost of future pension payments.
The fund’s work includes more than chasing the highest return. It has to keep enough liquid assets available for benefits, manage interest-rate and inflation exposure, consider how long members may live, diversify across regions and sectors, and avoid putting the plan at the mercy of one market, currency, property sector, or technology theme.
What pension funds do
Collect contributions from employers and members, then combine them with investment income.
Invest across public equities, private equity, bonds, credit, infrastructure, real estate, commodities, cash, and other strategies.
Pay pensions and other benefits on time, including during market stress.
Manage risk through diversification, hedging, liquidity planning, liability matching, and disciplined rebalancing.
Measure assets against future pension obligations, not only against a stock-market index.
The latest scoreboard
The table below ranks the latest reported result for each organization covered here. The periods are not identical. Six organizations report calendar-year 2025 results; CPP Investments, BCI, and PSP Investments report fiscal years ending March 31, 2026.
Latest reported public pension fund returns
Fund returns are net where reported. Status and scale notes are included for context. A higher one-year return does not mean a better pension outcome.
Fund or investor
Latest return
Period
Long-term context
Status or scale
La Caisse
9.3%
Calendar 2025
6.5% annualized over 5 years; 7.2% over 10
$517.3B net assets; 48 depositors
HOOPP
7.7%
Calendar 2025
7.8% annualized over 10 years
$132B; 109% funded
AIMCo Balanced Fund
7.6%
Calendar 2025
5.7% over 4 years; 7.2% over 10
Representative client mix
CPP Investments
7.8%
Fiscal year to Mar. 31, 2026
8.8% annualized over 10 years
$793.3B net assets
Ontario Teachers'
6.7%
Calendar 2025
6.6% annualized over 5 years; 6.8% over 10
$279.4B; fully funded
BCI combined pension clients
6.7%
Fiscal year to Mar. 31, 2026
7.0% over 5 years; 8.1% over 10
100% to 124% funded
PSP Investments
6.5%
Fiscal year to Mar. 31, 2026
8.3% over 5 years; 8.8% over 10
$320.6B net assets
OMERS
6.0%
Calendar 2025
7.7% over 5 years; 7.1% over 10
$145.2B; 99% smoothed funded
OPTrust
4.2%
Calendar 2025
6.7% annualized over 10 years; 7.8% since inception
$27.2B; fully funded 17 years
Five years show a different story
The calendar-year table is the cleanest comparison because the six funds and the TSX row all cover January 1 through December 31. It also shows why one year can distort the picture: the TSX dominated the strong years, while diversified funds held up differently during the 2022 market shock.
Calendar-year returns: four major funds versus the TSX
Rows are calendar years. Fund returns are net total-fund returns where reported. TSX is S&P/TSX Composite total return including dividends.
Year
TSX total return
La Caisse
HOOPP
AIMCo Balanced
Ontario Teachers'
2021
25.1%
13.5%
11.28%
16.2%
11.1%
2022
-5.8%
-5.6%
-8.60%
-4.6%
4.0%
2023
11.8%
7.2%
9.38%
8.0%
1.9%
2024
21.6%
9.4%
9.7%
12.6%
9.4%
2025
31.7%
9.3%
7.7%
7.6%
6.7%
Calendar-year returns: OMERS and OPTrust versus the TSX
Rows are calendar years. The final column highlights the broad market story, not a fund benchmark.
Year
TSX total return
OMERS
OPTrust
Market context
2021
25.1%
15.7%
15.3%
Strong public markets
2022
-5.8%
4.2%
-2.2%
Rates and inflation shock
2023
11.8%
4.6%
5.3%
Market recovery
2024
21.6%
8.3%
9.6%
Public equity strength
2025
31.7%
6.0%
4.2%
TSX and gold led
Fiscal-year returns: March-year funds with a TSX reference
Fund returns cover April 1 to March 31. The TSX reference uses the prior calendar-year total return because a directly aligned annual index series is not shown here.
Fiscal year ended Mar. 31
TSX calendar reference
CPP Investments
BCI
PSP Investments
Fiscal 2022
25.1% calendar 2021
6.8%
7.4%
10.9%
Fiscal 2023
-5.8% calendar 2022
1.3%
3.5%
4.4%
Fiscal 2024
11.8% calendar 2023
8.0%
7.5%
7.2%
Fiscal 2025
21.6% calendar 2024
9.3%
10.0%
12.6%
Fiscal 2026
31.7% calendar 2025
7.8%
6.7%
6.5%
What happened inside each fund?
La Caisse: 9.3% in calendar 2025
La Caisse manages money for 48 depositors, including the base Québec Pension Plan. Its weighted-average depositor return was 9.3% in 2025, while the base Québec Pension Plan earned 9.8%. La Caisse’s five-year annualized return was 6.5% and its ten-year result was 7.2%.
Public equity markets led with a 17.7% return. Credit returned 9.6% and infrastructure 9.2%. Private equity returned 2.3%, while real estate returned 0.2%. La Caisse also reached its goal of $100 billion invested in Quebec one year early.
Member takeaway: La Caisse’s global diversification and Quebec mandate mean its result will not mirror a Canadian stock index. Its own benchmark and the health of its depositor plans are more useful tests.
HOOPP: 7.7% in calendar 2025
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan serves more than 504,000 members across Ontario’s hospital and community healthcare sector. Its 2025 net return was 7.7%, with $132 billion in net assets and a 109% funded status. Its ten-year annualized net return was 7.8%.
Public equities were HOOPP’s biggest disclosed winner at 22.2%. Its total capital-markets portfolio returned 11.7%. Private markets returned 2.1%, including 3.6% for private equity, 1.8% for infrastructure, 1.1% for real estate, and 0.9% for private credit.
Fun fact: HOOPP says contribution rates have not changed since 2004, while it continues to provide a defined-benefit pension to a growing healthcare membership. That stability is part of the pension story the one-year return cannot show.
AIMCo: 7.6% for its Balanced Fund
AIMCo invests for Alberta pension plans, endowments, insurance accounts, and government funds. Because each client chooses its own asset mix, AIMCo’s Balanced Fund is a representative composite, not one single member pension plan. The Balanced Fund returned 7.6% in 2025; AIMCo’s Total Fund returned 7.5%.
Public equities returned 19.4%, private debt and loans returned 7.9%, and mortgages returned 5.8%. Real estate was the weakest major asset class at -2.2%. The Balanced Fund’s ten-year annualized return was 7.2%, while its four-year annualized return was 5.7%.
Member takeaway: AIMCo results depend heavily on which client portfolio you mean. Ask for the return of your own plan or account, not only the headline Balanced Fund number.
Ontario Teachers': 6.7% and the SpaceX effect
Ontario Teachers’ manages the defined-benefit pension plan for Ontario’s active and retired teachers. It ended 2025 with $279.4 billion in net assets, stayed fully funded for a thirteenth consecutive year, and produced a 6.7% total-fund net return. Its five-year annualized result was 6.6% and its ten-year result was 6.8%.
The fun headline is venture growth. That portfolio returned 30.2%, and Ontario Teachers’ identified valuation gains in several investments, particularly SpaceX and Databricks. The portfolio grew from $10.4 billion to $15.3 billion, but that change also included new investments and other portfolio changes. Ontario Teachers’ does not disclose the exact value or ownership percentage of its SpaceX stake.
Commodities returned 27.0% and public equities 15.0%. The drags were private equity at -5.3%, inflation hedges at -4.7%, real estate at -3.1%, infrastructure at 1.8%, and a $1.2 billion foreign-exchange loss.
Member takeaway: a spectacular private investment can make a great headline without carrying the whole plan. The much larger diversified portfolio still determines the pension result.
OMERS: 6.0% after real-estate recovery
OMERS covers Ontario’s broader municipal sector, including municipalities, transit systems, school boards, utilities, and emergency services. It earned a 6.0% net return in 2025, added $8.2 billion in net investment income, and grew to $145.2 billion in net assets. Its smoothed funded status improved to 99%.
Public equities returned 12.3%, private credit 8.3%, and infrastructure 6.0%. Real estate recovered to 5.1% after a -4.9% result in 2024. Private equity was the only negative major asset class at -2.5%, while foreign exchange reduced the total return by 1.3 percentage points.
Member takeaway: OMERS’ five-year average return was 7.7% and its ten-year average was 7.1%. Those longer figures show why a rebound year in one asset class matters, but does not define the plan.
OPTrust: 4.2%, with gold doing the heavy lifting
OPTrust serves primarily Ontario public-service employees represented by OPSEU/SEFPO, along with OPTrust Select members. Its total portfolio returned 4.2% in 2025 and the plan remained fully funded for a seventeenth consecutive year. Its ten-year annualized net return was 6.7%.
Commodities returned an eye-catching 45.0%, driven by gold. Public equities returned 18.2% and absolute-return strategies 9.7%. Real estate returned -8.5%, and small incubation investments returned -14.4%. OPTrust’s private-market portfolio as a whole returned -0.8%.
Fun fact: OPTrust says investment returns account for more than 70% of the benefits its members receive in retirement. That makes long-term return important, but its Member-Driven Investing approach is designed to deliver the return needed without taking excessive risk.
CPP Investments: 7.8% for fiscal 2026
CPP Investments invests the assets of the Canada Pension Plan for more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries. It ended fiscal 2026 on March 31 with $793.3 billion in net assets, a 7.8% net return, and an 8.8% ten-year annualized net return.
Public equities returned 17.5% and real assets 12.2%, helped by energy, infrastructure, data centres, and industrial real estate. Private equity returned about 2.0%. The Fund’s diversified return trailed its 13.2% reference portfolio in fiscal 2026 because that reference portfolio had heavier exposure to large public technology and communication companies linked to the artificial-intelligence rally.
Member takeaway: CPP Investments is intentionally more diversified than its reference portfolio. That can reduce participation in a concentrated rally, but it is meant to reduce the damage from a concentrated decline.
BCI: 6.7% for fiscal 2026
BCI’s published combined pension return covers its six largest pension clients, including the Municipal, Public Service, Teachers’, College, BC Hydro, and WorkSafeBC pension plans. The combined return was 6.7% for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, above the average client actuarial return objective of 6.0%. All six plans remained fully funded, ranging from 100% to 124%.
Emerging-market public equities led with 28.6%, followed by Canadian public equities at 22.9% and global public equities at 16.0%. Private equity returned 8.1%, while real estate equity was the only negative major class at -4.9%. BCI’s five-year annualized combined pension return was 7.0% and its ten-year result was 8.1%.
Member takeaway: BCI’s headline number is a combined client result. Your plan’s exact return, funded ratio, asset mix, and benchmark may differ.
PSP Investments: 6.5% for fiscal 2026
PSP Investments manages money transferred by the federal government for the federal public service, Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP, and Reserve Force pension plans. It ended fiscal 2026 with $320.6 billion in net assets and a 6.5% net return. Its ten-year annualized net return was 8.8%, and the plans it serves remained in a strong overall funding position.
Public-market equities returned 20.6% and infrastructure 10.1%. Private equity returned 5.3%. Real estate was the largest drag at -7.3%, and currency movements reduced the total return by 2.2 percentage points. PSP says its long-term results are better judged over a full market cycle, especially because public-market-based benchmarks can diverge from private-asset valuations over one year.
Member takeaway: PSP’s 6.5% return still exceeded the actuarial discount rates required by the plans it serves. That is a more relevant pension test than asking whether it copied a concentrated equity benchmark.
What the results reveal
Public stocks and gold dominated the winning column. The TSX, public equities at HOOPP, BCI, AIMCo, Ontario Teachers’, OPTrust, CPP Investments, and PSP Investments, plus commodities at OPTrust and Ontario Teachers’, all benefited from strong public-market or precious-metal performance.
Private equity was much less consistent. Ontario Teachers’ private-equity portfolio fell 5.3%, OMERS fell 2.5%, and several other funds reported low single-digit private-equity returns. Private assets are valued differently from public securities, and difficult exit markets can delay the moment when a gain becomes cash.
Real estate remained a pressure point for many funds. OPTrust, PSP Investments, BCI, Ontario Teachers’, and AIMCo all reported negative real-estate results. OMERS was a notable exception in 2025 after a weak 2024, while La Caisse and HOOPP were roughly positive.
Currency mattered because most large pension funds invest globally. A stronger Canadian dollar reduces the Canadian-dollar value of foreign holdings. That is a drag the Canada-only TSX does not face in the same way.
The broader pattern is not failure. It is the cost and benefit of diversification. A portfolio designed to survive different economic environments will often miss part of a concentrated rally. The payoff is resilience when the market leader changes.
Bottom line
Canada’s public pension funds had a profitable but underwhelming year beside the 31.7% TSX rally. The TSX comparison is useful because it exposes how much a simple Canadian equity portfolio gained. It is incomplete because pension funds have to fund benefits, manage risk, and stay investable through the next downturn.
If your plan earned 4% to 9% while staying funded and meeting its long-term objective, that can be a successful pension year even when the TSX was hotter. The right question is not only “Did my plan beat the TSX?” It is “Did my plan earn enough, with the right risk, to keep paying the pension promise?”
Cite this page: Canooq.ca, Canada's Major Public Pension Funds: How Is Your Pension Plan Performing?, https://www.canooq.ca/blog/canada-major-public-pension-funds-performance
Canooq content is educational and may include affiliate or referral links. It is not financial, tax, legal, immigration, employment, mortgage, real estate, or healthcare advice. Verify official sources and provider terms before acting.
