Message from our CEO Jo Taylor
My tenure as the President and CEO of Ontario Teachers’ in the last five years has been marked by volatility, change, resilience and innovation. What has remained constant is our commitment to deliver retirement security for the educators we serve.
At a glance
- Ontario Teachers’ CEO Jo Taylor discusses the fund’s performance and strategy in 2024 Annual Report
- Despite a relatively slow investment environment, we remained active in acquisitions. For example, we invested in Max Matthiessen, a leading financial services advisor in the Nordics, and Instagrid, a European provider of high-performance portable battery systems
- We met our 2025 interim reduction target for these emissions against a 2019 baseline one year early, in fact achieving a 49% reduction over that timeframe against our target of 45%.
- In early 2024 we moved into a new head office in Toronto
We worked methodically to deliver a better performance in 2024 compared to the previous year. 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%, growing our net assets to $266.3 billion. We generated good performance across most asset classes this year, with the best performing asset classes being venture growth, inflation sensitive, listed equities and credit. Private equity and infrastructure also generated positive returns in 2024.
Driving performance
Despite a relatively slow investment environment, we remained active in acquisitions. Examples would include co-leading the fundraising round of SmartHR, a leading cloud-native human resources management platform in Japan. We invested in Max Matthiessen, a leading financial services advisor for pensions, insurance and wealth management companies in the Nordics, and set the terms to bring on an equity partner in Connexa which is New Zealand’s largest mobile network. On monetizations we successfully sold Shearer’s Foods, a leading contract manufacturer and private label supplier serving the snack industry in North America.
Progress on the climate transition and our impact strategy
We continued to make steady progress in reducing the intensity of our carbon emissions from our investment portfolio. We are proud to report that we met our 2025 interim reduction target for these emissions against a 2019 baseline one year early, in fact achieving a 49% reduction over that timeframe against our target of 45%. This is an important milestone for us and a testament to the dedication of our investment teams and portfolio companies to helping address climate change.
At the same time, we continue to look for investment opportunities that will benefit from the transition to a low-carbon economy. Our venture growth team led the fundraising round for Instagrid in 2024, a European provider of high-performance portable battery systems, an electrified alternative to fossil fuel generators. Going forward, the plan will continue to focus on opportunities to make a real-world impact by investing in the transition which we see as a compelling investment opportunity.
In terms of our own activities, in early 2024 we moved into a new head office in Toronto. This vibrant workspace, which is owned and operated by our real estate subsidiary Cadillac Fairview, promotes flexibility, is more energy efficient than our prior location and is better situated in the downtown financial district.
In a year of significant community need, we were also pleased to make an impact in the communities where we live and work through generous employee donations. We raised more than $825,000 for over 500 organizations across 22 countries during the year through our OTPP Cares program. A significant proportion of our employees (approximately 74%) made a donation and more than 30% volunteered their time to support critical need areas such as food insecurity and access to school supplies for children in low-income communities.
Organizational enhancements
We continue to augment and adapt our team to meet new and emerging challenges and opportunities that we face. In 2024, we introduced a co-CIO model, with Gillian Brown and Stephen McLennan leading our investment activities. This new structure has helped to provide a better balance of focus and accountability in our core business.
At the same time, Jonathan Hausman was appointed Chief Strategy Officer. This is a new role designed to shape a renewed strategic vision for Ontario Teachers’ over the coming years. We also appointed Mabel Wong as our Chief Financial Officer. Mabel oversees Ontario Teachers’ Finance activities globally.
To further deepen our leadership capabilities and provide opportunities on our team, we elevated several colleagues to become investment department leaders, including Bernard Grzinic to oversee Capital Markets, Steve Saldanha to head Total Fund Management, and Robert Sturgeon to lead Global Investment Strategy. Kevin Kerr was appointed to lead the Portfolio Solutions Group, a new department that will focus our value creation efforts and drive the predicted outcomes from the portfolio.
A look at 2025 and beyond
As we look ahead to 2025, a year that marks the 35th anniversary of Ontario Teachers’, I am reminded of the remarkable journey we have taken since we were founded. We are proud of the strong track record since 1990, and we look forward to continuing to build on this legacy in the years to come.
As we enter this next chapter amidst a rapidly changing operating environment, our focus will resolutely remain to deliver strong performance while making disciplined investment choices. This focus is designed to ensure that the plan remains fully funded and meets the retirement needs of our members. I am proud to lead Ontario Teachers’ and work alongside dedicated teams around the world. It is an honour to serve our province’s working and retired teachers, and drive the plan forward with the same dedication to excellence that has defined us for the last 35 years.
Jo Taylor
President & CEO