Q&A with our CIOs
Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) Gillian Brown and Stephen McLennan share their perspectives on the progress made, focuses for the near term and the opportunities they see in the years ahead.
2024 Annual Report
Learn about our performance and investment strategy
2024 year in review
Ontario Teachers’ leverages its scale, expertise and innovation to help companies grow and thrive. Our diversified portfolio spans six asset classes, targeting long-term returns above performance benchmarks. We aim to achieve an annual nominal return of 7%, which we believe will keep the plan fully funded over the long term.
$266.3B1
in net assets
Remained
fully funded
for the 12th year in a row
$23.7B
in investment income
9.4%
One-year total-fund net return
7.4%
10-year total-fund net return
($7.6B)
negative value add2
1 All figures as at December 31, 2024 and expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
2 Value add is the amount of return in excess of (below) benchmarks after deducting management fees, transaction costs and administrative costs allocated to the active programs (includes annual incentives but does not include long-term incentives).
Spotlights
By collaborating with our portfolio companies, we continue to create value, strengthen operations, and position our investments for sustainable growth. The following spotlights highlight some of our investments across sectors such as data centers, cell towers, climate tech and agriculture.
Investing in digital infrastructure
Demand for digital infrastructure—the data centers and cellular towers that underpin our increasingly virtual existence—is growing rapidly. They will be critical in a future where artificial intelligence and connected devices play a greater role. That is why we have chosen to direct significant capital towards these assets.
Our investments in this area span across key markets in North America and Asia-Pacific. Learn more about why this sector is critical in today’s connected world and the role it plays in our long-term investment strategy.
Investing in agriculture
Agriculture assets offer diversification and inflation protection, and farmland - a finite resource - has the potential for significant long-term capital appreciation. With the global population expected to increase by almost two billion by 2050, demand for the sector’s products will remain strong.
We have a presence in key farming regions around the world, from the U.S. and Australia to Chile and Portugal. Learn how we’re helping our assets become more resilient as they adapt to challenges such as more frequent extreme weather and the need to make better use of critical resources like water.
Instagrid: A portable off-grid power solution
Instagrid is a European provider of an alternative to off-grid power solutions with its innovative portable battery system. Through our active management approach, we have supported Instagrid’s global expansion efforts (in Canada and the U.S.) and collaborated with them to enhance operations and provide governance oversight.
Messages from our Chair and our CEO
Message from Board Chair Steve McGirr
“I am pleased to report that the plan remains fully funded for the 12th consecutive year with a robust preliminary surplus of $29.1 billion, ensuring stability in contributions and benefits for members.”
– Steve McGirr, Chair
Message from CEO Jo Taylor
“Our investment teams actively managed our portfolio and made attractive new investments across sectors in our strategic geographies. This generated investment income of $23.7 billion, representing a return net of costs of 9.4%.”
– Jo Taylor, President & CEO
Approach to investing
Our investment strategy balances risk, plan assets, and liabilities, with a long-term focus on generating returns to fund both current and future pensions. We integrate a bottom-up approach to asset selection with a top-down direction on portfolio construction and risk management.
Diversification
Diversification through portfolio construction spreads risk across time horizons, asset classes, geographies, and sectors. This approach aims to achieve stable total-fund returns and perform well in various investment environments while reducing the impact of any individual investment loss on the overall fund.
Gross investments by geography3
As at December 31, 2024
3 Percent of total gross fair value of investments based on country of primary listing, location of head office or location of property. Gross investments include securities sold but not yet purchased, and exclude investment-related receivables and investment-related liabilities.
Our global footprint
Our global presence is key to accessing top international opportunities and building a diversified portfolio that enhances resilience across time horizons. With teams operating in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, we focus on balancing growth and stability while leveraging local expertise to drive superior returns.
Canada
While we invest globally, Canada remains a cornerstone of our operations. With more than one third of our gross assets located in Canada, we are deeply rooted in our home country. Our local expertise enables us to identify opportunities that deliver strong, risk-adjusted returns while contributing to the Canadian economy.
Notable highlights over the year include:
- Cadillac Fairview (CF) expanded its residential rental portfolio with projects at CF Carrefour Laval in Québec, 750 Peel Street in Montréal and CF’s third residential project at CF Carrefour Laval, a 366-unit development. With projects at CF Rideau in Ottawa and 750 Peel in Montréal, CF now has over 1,160 residential units under construction.
- Announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge Fairstone Bank of Canada and Home Trust Company, creating a leading alternative lender to better serve Canadian customers.
- Supported Alan’s expansion into Canada through Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG). Alan’s digital health platform, which integrates insurance, healthcare services, and preventive care, marks its first entry into the market since our investment in 2022.
$110 billion
in gross investments in Canada
United States
The U.S. is one of Ontario Teachers’ largest investment regions and has been a key driver of returns since 1990. Our diversified portfolio in the region spans all asset classes, reinforcing our commitment to the market.
Investments highlights this year included:
- Investment in Omega Healthcare Management Services, a leading technology-enabled healthcare management solutions provider.
- Investment in Kong Inc., a leading developer of cloud API technologies, Bilt Rewards, the nation’s largest loyalty program for home and neighbourhoods and a follow-on investment in Databricks, a Data and AI company.
- Successfully completed the sale of Shearer’s Foods, a leading contract manufacturer and private label supplier in the snack industry across the U.S. and Canada
$99 billion
in gross investments in the U.S.
Latin America
Ontario Teachers’ has a long history of investing in the region, particularly Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. Our investments are primarily focused on infrastructure, natural resources, and real estate.
Investment highlights this year included:
- Completed the sale of our entire stake in Brazilian mall operator Multiplan, generating approximately R$3.68 billion (US$660 million).
- Grupo Saesa, one of the largest electric utilities in Chile, concluded the onboarding and integration of Enel Transmisión, a portfolio of 683km of transmission lines and 57 substations. This marks an important milestone for Grupo Saesa, which has been an Ontario Teachers’ portfolio company since 2008.
- IDEAL, a major player in infrastructure projects across Mexico, expanded its toll-road portfolio in 2024 by acquiring full ownership of two key roads along Mexico’s east coast. Ontario Teachers’ first invested with IDEAL (Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina, S.A.B. de C.V.) in 2016 with further investments in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
$17 billion
in gross investments in Latin America
Europe, the Middle East and Africa
We actively invest across asset classes in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). In 2024, we continued to focus on driving value creation and actively managing our portfolio to strengthen performance and build better businesses. Our approach emphasizes collaboration with our portfolio companies to accelerate growth, enhance operations, and deliver sustainable long-term value.
Notable portfolio highlights from the year include:
- Through our Boreal IM joint venture, we continued to expand our logistics portfolio across Europe, acquiring eight fully leased logistics assets in France and three warehouses in Germany, reinforcing our focus on high-demand sectors.
- Together with Partners Group and CDPQ, we successfully sold Techem, an international provider of digitally enabled solutions for the building ecosystem, as part of our ongoing efforts to realize value from our portfolio.
- We invested in DeepL, a leading language AI company committed to breaking down language barriers for businesses globally.
$51 billion
in gross investments in EMEA
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) remains a focus as we deepen our investment footprint. With a strategy centred on Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Korea, we are diversifying across asset classes, leveraging global expertise, and tailoring strategies to local markets. Through strategic partnerships and a commitment to value creation, we continue to drive sustainable growth in this dynamic region.
Investment highlights this year included:
- We entered into an agreement to bring on CDPQ as an equity partner in Connexa, a leading designer, builder and operator of New Zealand’s most comprehensive mobile tower infrastructure network.
- Investments in Fleet Space Technologies, Australia’s leading space exploration company, Mintifi, India’s leading supply chain financing platform, Perfios, India’s leading B2B SaaS fintech company, and co-leading a fundraise for SmartHR, a leading cloud-native human resources management platform in Japan, were all done via TVG.
- Successfully concluded the first IPO for TVG investment – Pony.AI, a leading competitor in the autonomous driving space, which was listed on NASDAQ in November.
$25 billion
in gross investments in APAC
Sustainable investing
Advancing our sustainable investing practices
We updated our Sustainable Investing Guidelines which provide a full description of our definition, approach and framework. We also ramped up our efforts to integrate physical climate and nature-related risks and opportunities, as well as impacts and dependencies, into our due diligence and asset management efforts.
Further, we continued to develop our growing capacity and understanding on how to measure positive impact, as well as the potential for adverse impacts, of a subset of companies within our portfolio in relation to their social and/or environmental performance and progress. We believe that identifying and measuring impact helps to provide rigor in tracking our ability to create long-term value and deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Performance against interim targets
Ontario Teachers’ has a long-term objective of achieving net-zero emissions from our investment activities by 2050. In 2021, we set interim targets to reduce portfolio carbon emissions4 intensity by 45% by 2025 and two-thirds (67%) by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline. We are proud to have reached our 2025 emissions intensity target a full year early in 2024, achieving a 49% reduction of portfolio carbon emissions intensity, compared to a 2019 baseline.
Decreased portfolio carbon emissions intensity by
49%
since 2019, reaching our 2025 net-zero target a full year early
As we look forward, our priority remains anchored in capturing value from the energy transition, through investing across a spectrum of transition-related opportunities and implementing decarbonization strategies within our portfolio. We are committed to taking a thoughtful approach, learning by doing, and embracing the challenges that lie ahead.
Decarbonizing our portfolio companies
We expanded our PART engagements from 24 to 30 private companies. Nearly all of these companies have completed a decarbonization study, and the number with Paris-aligned targets grew from 8 to 13, representing more than $14 billion in AUM. Our 2025 focus is on supporting these companies in managing their emissions and increasing the number of portfolio companies with Paris-aligned targets.
Increasing green investments
Our green investments reached above $34 billion. Meanwhile, we are building capabilities to better assess and capture opportunities presented by the evolving energy transition across asset classes.
4 Since we convert all greenhouse gases to tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2 e) in our calculations, the terms “greenhouse gas” or “GHG” and “carbon emissions” are used interchangeably in this report.
Serving our members
Empowering members to make informed decisions with confidence
We paid
$8.1 billion
in benefits to retired Ontario teachers and their beneficiaries
Our commitment to delivering outstanding service to our members inspires everything we do. Over the past five years, we have enhanced and expanded our digital capabilities to provide an experience that reflects the evolving needs and expectations of our members. Our dedication to service excellence is rewarded by another year of high service quality scores. The Quality Service Index, our primary performance measurement, collects an independent survey from a sample of members throughout the year. In 2024, 93% of our members were satisfied with our service, and 45% gave us a perfect score.
Our vision is to transform pension complexity into clarity. Through education, expert insights and simplified information, we empower members to make informed decisions with confidence, any way they reach for our service.
Member Profile
185,000
Working members
158,000
Pensioners
343,000
Total number of working members and pensioners
59
Average retirement age
$50,700
Average starting pension
32
Average years retired members expected to collect a pension
"I am pleased that I have a very secure pension, and I do not have to worry about loss of income at any time. I appreciate being informed of the investments strategies and the gains made by the plan. I know if I have a problem, I can easily contact someone for assistance."
Michael J. W.,
retired member
People & Culture
Our strength and long-term success are rooted in our team. We view our ability to partner with employees as crucial to enabling a best-in-class and high-performing workforce. In 2024, we continued to advance our People & Culture strategy.
Our people
Our areas of strategic focus for the year were: developing talent with a focus on leadership capabilities, building for the future, and embracing employee well-being. We made progress against these focus areas in meaningful ways.
Developing
talent
We rolled out AI tools to all employees to drive workforce efficiencies as well as introducing dedicated AI champions across the fund.
Building for
the future
We adapted and strengthened our talent management practices to reflect the highly competitive global talent market. To continually develop our leaders of tomorrow, we offer upskilling courses to develop foundational leadership capabilities.
Embracing employee
well-being
When it comes to how we work, we have embraced a hybrid work model to support and recognize the individual needs of each of our team members. We also opened our new Toronto head office at 160 Front Street West.
A workplace that drives collaboration, engagement, and sustainability
Our new downtown Toronto headquarters is a workspace that reflects our commitment to innovation, inclusivity and sustainability. Opened in June 2024, the workspace is the culmination of a multi-year project developed in partnership with Cadillac Fairview, Ontario Teacher’s Canadian real estate subsidiary.
Creating a more equitable workplace
We partnered with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund to design a Legacy Space in our Toronto office, where conversations and education about the land we call Canada, and our collective journey towards reconciliation, are encouraged and supported. Learn more about the mural and the artist's message.
Making a mark in our communities
For three consecutive years, we have supported employees around the globe volunteer in their communities. Learn about how our volunteerism initiatives and employee-led donation program continued to grow.
Creating a culture of belonging
In 2024, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) partnered on over 50 global events, emphasizing the importance of embracing intersectionality, fostering everyday allyship, and celebrating the diverse backgrounds of our team through cultural awareness and educational initiatives, including observances of various Heritage Months globally. Additionally, we held educational and celebratory engagements in recognition of Lunar New Year, Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Earth Day, Pride, World Mental Health Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.
