Australia’s industry super funds and a group of Canadian public pension funds signed a memorandum of understanding as part of the Canadian-Australian Pension Funds Investment Initiative, which launched March 4.
The initiative is a voluntary framework intended to support the Australian super funds, Canadian pension funds and their related investment organizations to “facilitate dialogue with governments on policy barriers and associated solutions to improve the business environment for investment in each jurisdiction and to unlock greater long-term capital for private investment on behalf of millions of working and retired people.”
The signatories will also build awareness of the value of investment models that leverage the skills of pension capital investors.
Projections are that by 2040 Australian super funds and Canadian pension funds will oversee about $14.05 trillion in assets.
The Australian super funds and investors involved are:
- Australian Retirement Trust
- AustralianSuper
- Aware Super
- CareSuper
- Cbus
- HESTA
- Hostplus
- IFM Investors
- Rest
Bowtell added that investments in Canada that super funds will look to pursue include critical minerals, data centers, transport infrastructure, seaports, and infrastructure that supports the digitization of economies and the energy transition.
Meanwhile, the Canadian organizations involved are:
- Alberta Investment Management Corporation
- British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
- La Caisse
- CPP Investments
- Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
- Investment Management Corporation of Ontario
- Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
- Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
- Public Sector Pension Investments
PSP Investments said there is fertile ground to bolster opportunities for investment between the two nations.
“I’m proud of the strong relationships our team has built in Australia and excited about the role we can continue to play through this initiative,” said PSP Investments President and CEO Deborah Orida said in a statement. “For more than a decade, Australia has been an important market for us. This Memorandum of Understanding strengthens cooperation among like-minded long-term investors and helps create the conditions for durable value and essential infrastructure that supports people and communities.”
A statement from CPP Investments added that continuing to build strategic relationships with the super funds involved in the initiative aligns with its global commercial activities.
“CPP Investments is an established global investor with a strong track record of deploying significant, patient capital into high-quality, economically productive assets. We seek to contribute our experience, knowledge and relationships to the mutual benefit of CAP Invest Initiative participants, as this initiative upholds constructive engagement that will help support stable, investable markets over the long run,” CPP Investments President and CEO John Graham said.
The MoU comes as Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney and Canadian Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne visit Australia
A version of this article originally appeared in our sister publication, Financial Standard, which, like CIO, is owned by ISS STOXX.
Tags: Canadian public pension plans, long-term investing, superannuation in Australia