The OPSEU Pension Trust ended 2020 with an 8.9 per cent net investment return and maintained its fully funded status. That was down from 2019 when it ended the year with an 11.2 per cent net investment return and maintaining its fully funded status.
The plan’s assets grew to more than $23 billion, up from almost $22 billion in 2019. The OPTrust also lowered its discount rate to 3.0 per cent, net of inflation, from 3.1 per cent in 2019.
Read: OPTrust returns 11.2% in 2019, lowers discount rate
During 2020, the OPTrust’s member-driven investing strategy helped the plan navigate the market turbulence caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release. The strategy was designed to weather market volatility by maintaining the funded status of the plan at the lowest risk possible, added the release.
“While no one could have predicted the events of the past year, we know that periods of volatility are always possible,” said Peter Lindley, president and chief executive officer of the OPTrust, in the release. “The effectiveness of our member-driven investing strategy was evident in the way the portfolio remained resilient and the high level of liquidity we maintained, which enabled us to take advantage of opportunities that arose.”