Staff with files from Benefits Canada
Statistics Canada finds that the market value of employer-sponsored pension funds totaled $1.2 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 3.9% from the fourth quarter of 2012.
Pension fund investments in stocks grew 4.5% in the first quarter, surpassing the 3.1% gain in the value of shares on the S&P/TSX Composite Index for the same period.
Investments in real estate assets grew 3.7% while the value of bond holdings edged down 0.2%.
Foreign investments increased in value by 6.9% and the share of pension fund assets held in foreign investments grew to 32.6% of total pension assets.