The value of Canadian trusteed pension funds’ assets rose by $40.9 billion — roughly two per cent — in the first quarter of 2023 to $2.2 trillion, according to a new report by Statistics Canada.
Within trusteed plans, public sector assets grew five per cent to $1.7 trillion, while private sector assets increased to $451 billion. Total revenue decreased by nearly $3.7 billion — or nearly nine per cent — to $38.9 billion. Net income also decreased from $17.9 billion to $15.6 billion.
Read: Trusteed pension funds’ assets valued $2.1T in Q3: StatsCan
The five largest asset categories, which account for more than 90 per cent of the total market value of assets, all increased in value over the first quarter, with equities and other assets each increasing by slightly more than $9.2 billion, followed by infrastructure ($9.1 billion), bonds ($5.5 billion) and real estate ($1.7 billion).
Domestic assets rose by $16.6 billion, led by Canadian short-term investments (up $8.3 billion, or 10 per cent), followed by bonds (up $5.3 billion), real estate (up $1.6 billion) and infrastructure (up $1.6 billion). Canadian equities was the only category to register a decline, dropping $0.2 billion.
As well, foreign assets rose by $14.6 billion. Equities posted the largest gain (up $9.4 billion), followed by infrastructure (up $7.6 billion), bonds (up $0.2 billion) and real estate (up $0.1 billion).
Read: Trusteed pension funds’ assets valued at $2.1T in Q2: Stats Can