PSP Investments Posts 10.9% Return in Fiscal Year 2022 as Net Assets under Management Grow by 12.7% to $230.5 Billion

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Highlights:

• Ten-year net annualized return of 9.8% leads to $25.9 billion in cumulative net investment gains above Reference Portfolio, indicative of long-term added value through portfolio construction and active management decisions
• Five-year net annualized return of 9.0% leads to $19.7 billion in cumulative net investment gains above Reference Portfolio
• One-year total portfolio net return of 10.9% outperforms Reference Portfolio
• Continued focus on risk management supports agile response to markets in a rapidly evolving global landscape
• Inaugural green bond issuance, first climate strategy and bespoke Green Asset Taxonomy indicate continuing focus on integrating ESG factors into responsible investment decision-making
• Shift to a hybrid workplace poised to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive environment

MONTRÉAL, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) ended its fiscal year on March 31, 2022, with $230.5 billion of net assets under management (AUM) and a 10.9% one-year net portfolio return. Net assets under management grew by nearly $26 billion, up 12.7% from $204.5 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year. Net contributions represented $3.5 billion, while $22.5 billion was generated from net income.

From a long-term investment approach perspective, PSP Investments measures success at the total fund level through the following performance objectives and their related benchmarks:

-  Achieve a return – net of expenses– greater than the return of the Reference Portfolio over a 10-year period: During fiscal year 2022, PSP Investments achieved a 10-year net annualized return of 9.8% against the Reference Portfolio benchmark of 8.4%, leading to $25.9 billion in cumulative net investment gains above the Reference Portfolio. This outperformance of 1.4% per annum represents the value added by PSP Investments' strategic asset allocation decisions and active asset management activities.

-  Achieve a return – net of expenses – exceeding the Total Fund Benchmark return over 10-year and 5-year periods: During fiscal year 2022, PSP Investments achieved a 10-year net annualized return of 9.8% against the Total Fund Benchmark of 8.6% and a 5-year net annualized return of 9.0% against the Total Fund Benchmark of 7.9%. This represents an outperformance of 1.2% per annum (or $16 billion over 10 years) and 1.1% per annum (or $10.6 billion over 5 years) respectively.

During fiscal year 2022, PSP investments continued to generate strong net income as the markets recovered, translating into a higher AUM of $230.5B at the end of the fiscal year as compared to $204.5B at the end of fiscal year 2021. PSP Investments' increase in operating costs was lower than the average AUM growth of 18.0% and was in line with its strategic and operational priorities including talent retention and total fund performance. Due to a combination of sound cost management and the increase in net AUM, PSP Investments' total cost ratio decreased below our expected average costs and represents the lowest ratio in the last seven fiscal years.

"In the wake of the pandemic, PSP Investments delivered solid, above-benchmark performance," said Neil Cunningham, President and Chief Executive Officer at PSP Investments. "We did so at the same time as raising our climate ambition by developing our first climate strategy and a bespoke green asset taxonomy. These actions enable us to use our capital and influence to support the transition to global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050."    

"Our 10-year and five-year performance indicates the long-term value we add through patient capital, portfolio construction and active investment activities," said Eduard van Gelderen, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at PSP Investments. "The broad diversification of our portfolio across public and private asset classes, industries, geographies and currencies has been a key factor in helping us reduce risk and improve resilience." 

As at March 31, 2022:

Capital Markets, comprised of Public Market Equities and Fixed Income, ended the fiscal year with $99.9 billion of net AUM, an increase of $2.4 billion from the end of fiscal year 2021. The group generated portfolio income of $2.9 billion, for a one-year return of 3.0% versus the benchmark return of 1.3%. The five-year annualized return was 7.4%, compared to the 6.6% benchmark return. Public Market Equities, with a year-end AUM of $59.1 billion, a one year-return of 6.0% and a five-year return of 10.1% (versus 3.3% and 8.8% for the respective benchmark returns), was able to outperform as global equity markets were impacted by the emergence of highly contagious COVID-19 variants. The majority of Public Market Equities' positive relative performance in fiscal year 2022 came from alternative investments, where many investments were well-positioned to take advantage of market dislocations induced by a notable increase in macroeconomic events. Fixed Income ended the fiscal year with a net AUM of $40.7 billion and outperformed its one-year benchmark by 0.2% and its five-year benchmark by 0.1%.

Private Equity ended the fiscal year with net AUM of $35.4 billion, up $3.7 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year, and generated portfolio income of $8.6 billion, resulting in a one-year return of 27.6% versus the benchmark return of 19.5%. The five-year annualized return was 17.6% versus a benchmark of 17.2%. The strong performance highlights the strength and quality of the private equity portfolio, both in co-investments and funds. In addition to a favourable valuation environment, portfolio income has been driven by strong earnings growth and cashflows, particularly in the financials and healthcare sectors. The growth of the portfolio was driven by $6.3 billion in valuation gains and $6.4 billion in acquisitions. During the fiscal year, Private Equity deployed $4.4 billion of capital through funds and $2.0 billion in new co-investments which included supporting growth in existing portfolio companies.

Credit Investments ended the fiscal year with net AUM of $21.9 billion, up by $7.4 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year, and generated portfolio income of $1.2 billion, resulting in a 7.5% one-year return that exceeded the benchmark return of -0.5%. The 7.9% five-year annualized return also beat the 2.6% benchmark return. Record levels of acquisition activity by private equity sponsors led to significant opportunities for Credit Investments across the debt capital spectrum.

Real Estate ended the fiscal year with $31.1 billion in net AUM, up by $4.3 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year, and generated $6.4 billion in portfolio income, resulting in a 24.8% one-year return, versus 30.2% for the benchmark return. The 8.7% five-year return exceeded the 8.0% return for the benchmark. Real Estate focused on deploying into high conviction sectors, resulting in key acquisitions within the industrial, residential, life science and studio sectors.

Infrastructure ended the fiscal year with $23.5 billion in net AUM, a $5.1 billion increase from the end of the previous fiscal year and generated $2.7 billion of portfolio income. The one-year return of 13.9% was below the benchmark return of 16.1%. The five-year annualized return of 10.4% exceeded the 6.4% benchmark return. During the fiscal year, Infrastructure deployed $4.8 billion of capital in direct and co-investments and $1.3 billion through the funds. New investments supported energy-friendly transition across Europe and Oceania by acquiring equity participations in utilities and industrials.

Natural Resources ended the fiscal year with net AUM of $11.6 billion, an increase of $1.9 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year, and generated portfolio income of $1.6 billion, for a one-year return of 15.9%, versus 26.3% for the benchmark return. The 8.5% five-year annualized return beat the benchmark return of 7.6%. The fiscal year was marked by significant valuation gains of $1.3 billion and continued strong deployment of $1.9 billion, mainly in Oceania and the US.

We launched the execution of our new strategic plan, PSP Forward, with the vision to be an insightful global investor and valued partner that is selective across markets and is focused on the long-term. Key accomplishments for fiscal year 2022 include:

• We released our Green Bond Framework and issued a C$1.0 billion 10-year Green Bond to fund projects that demonstrate positive environmental and climate outcomes. PSP Investments' Green Bond Framework is aligned with existing standards in green bond and sustainable debt markets, and was awarded a rating of "Medium Green" and the highest possible governance score of "Excellent" by CICERO Shades of Green.
  
  
• We prioritized climate change as an important focus area company-wide during fiscal year 2022 and committed to use our capital and influence to contribute to the transition to global net zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050. By implementing our climate strategy, we expect to reduce our portfolio GHG emissions intensity by 20% to 25% by 2026, from a 2021 baseline. We outlined a clear and straightforward approach for achieving our commitments that include substantial investments in green and transition assets, the latter being those that will require capital and assertive mitigation plans to reduce their carbon intensity along a science-based trajectory. Developed during fiscal year 2022, the climate strategy was launched in April 2022 and is available on our website.
  
  
• We continued to enhance our data-driven approach to integrating ESG factors into our investment and asset management processes and practices. We developed an ESG Composite Score that incorporates the standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and enables our investment teams to integrate ESG information with data-driven insights as we quantitatively assess and monitor a company's ESG performance. We ranked among the founding members of the ESG Data Convergence Project, the first LP-GP partnership aiming to standardize ESG reporting in the private equity industry We also joined the Institutional Limited Partners Association's Diversity in Action Initiative and participated in various other industry collaboration initiatives including the Investor Leadership Network, the Sustainable Action Finance Council and Focusing Capital on the Long Term.
  
  
• Our technology and digital strategy remains a key strategy enabler, supporting PSP Investments with scalable systems, organized data and advanced analytics. In fiscal year 2022, we continued to modernize and simplify our technology platforms and data governance to enable efficient global investment operations. We also initiated the build-out of our self-serve analytics capabilities and continued incubating use cases within our advanced analytics framework.
  
  
• We took action to respond to the opportunity of reimagining the future of work following the workplace disruptions created by the pandemic. One of the changes we embraced was the shift of employee expectations related to flexibility on where, when and how work gets done. During fiscal year 2022, we developed a principles-based hybrid workforce model to facilitate the transition to a new way of working. We placed a heightened focus on the employee experience, building trust, leading with empathy, managing with accountability, leveraging inclusivity and promoting collaboration and well-being.
  
  
• Nurturing an inclusive and respectful work environment has been at the top of our people agenda for many years. We recognize the importance of equity, inclusion and diversity (Ei&D) – a cornerstone of our corporate culture - in attracting and retaining top talent and building high-performing teams. We conducted our second annual employee self-identification survey in fiscal year 2022 to continue to better understand our workforce demographics and measure progress. Spearheaded by our Ei&D Council and its eight affinity groups, we continued to embed Ei&D into our workplace culture and developed a three-year roadmap for delivering on our Ei&D priorities. As a notable example, our Veteran Integration Program celebrated its one-year anniversary and is currently recruiting for the next cohort of participants. Our efforts were recognized with a Canadian HR Award in the category Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion and a ranking as a Montréal Top Employer for a fifth consecutive year.

Other corporate highlights include:

• We are deeply committed to the communities where we operate. During fiscal year 2022, our PSP Gives Back campaign raised close to $500,000 (including PSP Investments' matching donations), which represented a 14% increase over last year. Funds benefited a range of local charities in Montréal, Hong-Kong, London and New York.
  
  
• We remain deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact inflicted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While PSP Investments does not have material exposure to Russian investments and does not hold any private direct investments in Russia, we have some exposure through passive index replication and external investment manager activities. As stated in our press release, we took immediate steps to divest of our Russian holdings, committing to exit this market completely as soon as conditions permit, and we continue to actively monitor the evolving risks and implications for our portfolio and investment activities. As a special initiative, we partnered with the International Committee of the Red Cross and raised $139,000 over a three-week period through a combination of employee donations and PSP Investments' matching contributions.
  
  
• Board succession planning was an important topic in fiscal year 2022. Mr. Garnet Garven and Mr. William Mackinnon fully completed their mandates. PSP Investments thanked them for their years of exceptional service and welcomed the arrival of three new directors – Mr. Gregory Chrispin, Ms. Helen Mallovy Hicks, and Mr. Maurice Tulloch – and the reappointment of Ms. Miranda Hubbs. PSP Investments' Board comprises six women and five men, and during fiscal year 2023, all four of the Board's standing committees will be chaired by women.
  
  
• During fiscal year 2022, Ms. Michelle Ostermann joined PSP Investments as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Capital Markets Investments. Mr. Patrick Samson, formerly Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Infrastructure, was appointed Senior Vice President and Global Head of Real Assets.
  
  
• During fiscal year 2022, Mr. Neil Cunningham, President and CEO, announced his planned retirement at the end of our next fiscal year, on March 31, 2023. PSP Investments has thrived under Mr. Cunningham's leadership, with important advances on its strategy and presence in international markets, leading to strong financial performance.

"I want to thank PSP Investments' management, employees and Board of Directors for their dedication over the past couple of years; their commitment and resilience have been nothing short of amazing," said Neil Cunningham, President and Chief Executive Officer of PSP Investments. "Despite all challenges and difficulties posed by the pandemic and global affairs, we remained ever mindful of our responsibility to create a better tomorrow for the 900,000 contributors and beneficiaries on whose behalf we invest. While I will be retiring in March 2023, I have confidence in the passion and abilities of my colleagues to ensure PSP Investments' future sustainability and performance."

For more information on PSP Investments' fiscal year 2022 performance, visit our website and download the annual report.  In a break from our previous practice, our Responsible Investment Report will be released in the fall of 2022.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada's largest pension investment managers with $230.5 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2022. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in capital markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and credit investments. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. For more information, visit investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE PSP Investments