Québec public pension fund La Caisse reported Thursday a 5.1% return in the first half of the year, underperforming a benchmark index of 7.5%. The pension fund highlighted strong returns in public equities, boosted by the artificial intelligence theme, and in infrastructure.
La Caisse’s public equity portfolio returned 14.6% through the end of June 30, against a benchmark of 13.6%.
The value of the fund’s private equity portfolio fell 4.3% in the first half of 2026, relative to its benchmark index of 8%, half of which is made up of public stocks. La Caisse noted that private equity is continuing to face challenging market conditions and portfolio companies are experiencing a decline in valuations, especially among companies more vulnerable to the adoption of AI, or companies dealing with higher interest rates on their debt.
“The first half of the year was dominated by two major trends: excitement for AI and the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East,” said La Caisse CEO Charles Emond, in a statement. “In equity markets, our teams outperformed in the context of a strong rally driven by AI. Meanwhile, our private equity portfolio was affected by AI’s impact on certain industries, such as insurance and services. Despite inflationary pressures, our infrastructure portfolio once again was distinguished by outstanding performance.”
For La Caisse, the fund’s fixed income portfolio returned 1.7%, above its benchmark of 1.1%. The fund’s infrastructure portfolio returned 7.2%, underperforming its benchmark index of public stocks, which returned 12.7%. Despite the underperformance relative to the asset-class benchmark, La Caisse noted its infrastructure portfolio continues to be a performance driver for the overall portfolio.
Real estate returned 2.7%, slightly under its 3.2% benchmark. The fund noted that after years of challenges for the real estate asset class, valuations are stabilizing, and a majority of sectors in the portfolio are gradually recovering.
As of June 30, the fund managed C$552 billion ($396.08 billion) in assets.
Tags: La Caisse