Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan expresses support for federal infrastructure investment plan

TORONTO –  "A national infrastructure investment strategy guided by a long term vision of independent governance and commercial viability could be transformative for Canada in terms of productivity, employment and return on investment," Ron Mock, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers') said today in response to the Canadian Government's economic update. Ontario Teachers' was among the first pension plans to invest in infrastructure assets directly and is one of the world's largest infrastructure investors, with a portfolio of nearly $16 billion as of year-end 2015.

"We believe that a government-backed Canadian infrastructure institution that partners government and institutional investor capital and risk sharing will significantly improve the Canadian infrastructure landscape. It will benefit the Canadian government and, ultimately, Canadians," said Mr. Mock.

Mr. Mock noted that the governance structure of such an institution will be essential to its success in attracting private capital. "We recommend the Government appoint a strong, professional and independent board to ensure it is run like a business, as is the case for Canadian pension plans, which have validated the soundness of this model on the global investment stage."

 Since entering the infrastructure arena in 2001, Ontario Teachers' has partnered with governments around the world, and leveraged the plan's governance and management expertise to add value and continuously improve the productivity of these assets. "In our experience," Mr. Mock noted, "countries that develop and implement a long-term vision for infrastructure are some of the most economically progressive and productive countries in the world."  The Ontario Teachers' infrastructure portfolio is diversified across the transport/logistics, water and waste water, gas distribution, renewable and conventional energy industry sectors.

About Ontario Teachers'

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers') is Canada's largest single-profession pension plan, with $171.4 billion in net assets at December 31, 2015.  It holds a diverse global portfolio of assets, 80% of which is managed in-house, and has earned an annualized rate of return of 10.3% since the plan's founding in 1990. Ontario Teachers' is an independent organization headquartered in Toronto. Its Asia-Pacific region office is located in Hong Kong and its Europe, Middle East & Africa region office is in London. The defined-benefit plan, which is fully funded, invests and administers the pensions of the province of Ontario's 316,000 active and retired teachers. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.