Caisse de depot et placement du Québec 

Trillions in Global Cash Await Call to Fix Crumbling U.S.

Institutional investors such as Montreal-based Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec have capital and want to invest in U.S. infrastructure ...

Pension Capital

Institutional investors such as Montreal-based Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec have capital and want to invest in U.S. infrastructure because it meets their long-term objectives, said Macky Tall, Caisse’s vice president of private equity and infrastructure. The Caisse is Canada’s second-biggest pension-fund manager, with C$214.7 billion ($190.7 billion) in net assets as of June 30.

There hasn’t been more investment because the U.S. is behind other countries in tapping private capital, Tall said, and there’s been a lack of expertise, legal authority or receptivity to it in some parts of the country.

“We as the investors keep it very simple: We only go and invest where that capital is desired and considered helpful,” he said. “We really only make these investments where there is appetite for that capital.”

Canadian Pension Funds will be invested in housing and urban development projects in Mexico

Canadian pension funds are going to be invested in housing and urban development projects in Mexico, it was announced this week.

Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate unit of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, a public pension funds manager, is teaming up with United States-based Black Creek Group with an investment of up to US $500 million.

Its first project, reported to be its first foray into Mexico, will be a residential development in the borough of Cuajimalpa in Mexico City consisting of two residential condominium buildings with 479 units in total.

It will invest $100 million in the 46,500-square-meter project.

Caisse de depot set to make investment in Mexico

Pension fund looks at infrastructure projects

The deals underscore the growing global ambitions of the Caisse, which had $294.5 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2013, and manages pension and insurance funds in the Canadian province of Québec.

It also comes as large projects promised by Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has spent his first two years in office passing numerous economic reforms, move closer to getting under way.

These projects include high-speed passenger rail from Mexico City to Queretaro, a new $9-billion airport in the capital and a $10-billion national broadband network. An impending spin-off of thousands of telecom towers owned by Carlos Slim's America Movil could also present an investment opportunity.

Caisse Chief Executive Michael Sabia is very familiar with the telecom sector, having run BCE, Canada's largest telecom company for six years before moving on to head the pension fund manager in 2009, after the global financial crisis.

The fund lost $39.8 billion in 2008, due in part to risky real estate bets, and saw its net asset base drop to about $120 billion. It has since been on a surer footing, with net assets recovering to nearly $215 billion as of June 30.

In June, Sabia said the Caisse, which has long focused on investments in companies and projects within Québec, would increasingly be looking for opportunities abroad.

Caisse de depot et placement du Québec 

set to unveil big Mexico infrastructure fund: sources

Canada’s second-largest pension fund, Caisse de depot et placement du Québec, is set to make a big foray into Mexico following an initial $100 million investment in real estate, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The sources, who requested not to be named as the deal is not yet public, said the Quebec fund is poised to soon unveil a large infrastructure-related investment in the Latin American  country.

One source said Caisse and a Mexican institutional investor plan to create a joint fund to invest up to several billion dollars in domestic infrastructure projects. A deal is likely to be finalized soon, the source said.

Manulife to create new home 

for larger operations in Montreal

Donald Guloien, President and Chief Executive Officer of Manulife made the announcement during a speech at The Canadian Club of Montreal.  "After we complete the acquisition, all of our employees will not fit in the Standard Life building or Centre Manuvie," said Mr. Guloien.  "Assuming we receive approval of the deal as proposed, we will commence building a new home in partnership with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.  Maison Manuvie will house our staff and allow for future growth, and will be a new world-class addition to the Montreal skyline."

Manulife entered into a co-venture agreement with Ivanhoe Cambridge, to develop, own and operate the 900 deMaisonneuve West office building development.  Following the closing of the proposed acquisition, Manulife will occupy more than half the space in the new building. The AAA building will be built to LEED CS Gold certification standards.  Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2015 and should be completed in 2017.

Caisse invests in Eastern Europe

A company co-owned by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s real estate subsidiary is making an investment in Eastern Europe.

PointPark Properties (P3), which is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge and TPG Real Estate, has agreed to acquire two logistics parks in Poland and one in Romania from CA Immobilien Anlagen AG.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Caisse, Solidarity Fund buy into V Media

Montreal Gazette-Sep 17, 2014Share

It also announced some new investors, specifically the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Solidarity Fund and Investissement Québec.

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In this BLOG we will look at pensions and their impact on what are called Public Private Partnerships or P3’s.  IT will also deal with other pension matters, such as Defined Contribution Plans (DC) vs Defined Benefit (DB) PLANS, the weakness in private plans, the need for pension reform in public pensions to have shareholder rights, directorships and ethical investment directives and policies.