The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System reported Monday that its investments returned 6% in 2025, with public equities and private credit driving returns for the pension’s diversified portfolio.
The pension reported positive returns across all asset classes except for private equity, which fell 2.5% in the year, down from a 9.5% return in 2024. In the announcement, OMERS stated that the private equity market saw low deal activity, with valuations continuing to be impacted by slow earnings growth and headwinds within certain sectors.
As of December 31, 2025, OMERS allocated 22% of its assets to infrastructure, followed by public equities (20%), private equity (18%), real estate (15%), private credit (14%), public credit (12%) and government bonds (11%). The fund includes its net economic derivative exposure within each asset class and presents a corresponding offset in the cash and funding category, which has a 12% allocation.
Public equities returned 12.3% during the year, below its 18.8% return from 2024. Real estate rebounded after several years of negative performance, returning 5.1% during the year, having fallen 4.9% in 2024. OMERS attributed strong returns in the asset class to office and retail. All other asset classes saw single-digit returns.
“Our portfolio served us well in 2025, generating steady performance against the backdrop of significant political and economic uncertainty, particularly around trade,” said Jonathan Simmons, OMERS’ chief financial officer and chief strategy officer, in a statement. “Despite this, six out of our seven investment asset classes delivered positive returns, led by a third year of double-digit returns from public equities and supported by another strong year for private credit investments. We continue to navigate a persistently challenging private equity market.”
The pension, which provides retirement benefits for 650,000 members in Ontario, saw its assets rise to C$145.2 billion ($106 billion) at the end of 2025, up from C$138.2 billion in 2024. OMERS reported a 10-year annualized return of 7.1%. The fund aims to grow its assets under management to C$200 billion by 2030.
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