One of Canada’s biggest pension funds has announced a five-year plan to invest over £8 billion in the UK.
If you are investment planning in Cheshire or elsewhere in the country, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is the second biggest pension fund in Canada, currently tasked with managing circa £254 billion on behalf of over 6 million pension savers.
The news has been warmly welcomed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, as she woos foreign money to support major infrastructure projects. CDPQ CEO Charles Emond said that it amounted to a 50% increase in the fund’s allocation to UK assets, adding that his aim was to become a partner offering ‘trust and choice’ as it eyed opportunities in UK infrastructure spending. Furthermore, he stressed that the UK had the edge over many competitors in terms of clarity, transparency and seriousness, offering a particularly welcoming environment.
Internationally, CDPQ is one of the biggest infrastructure investors and already invests around £17 billion in UK projects, including London Array Offshore Wind Farm and Welsh electricity generator First Hydro, having previously held a long term stake in Heathrow Airport. The Montreal-based fund’s commitment to Britain follows the pledge by 17 UK-based defined contribution pension providers to invest in British private markets, with a minimum of 5% of assets in their default funds by the end of the 2020s. The Government hopes this move will serve to drive around £25 billion of UK-bound investment.
CDPQ has said it is keen to invest alongside like-minded UK retirement funds, drawing on their local knowledge.
