Alberta Investment Management Corp. reported a 12.3-per-cent return across its funds in 2024 but fell short of its internal benchmark of 13.8 per cent, capping off a year that ended in turmoil when Alberta’s government dismissed the pension fund manager’s board and CEO.
AIMCo’s balanced fund – which reflects a typical mix of assets for its 17 client funds, which have varying objectives and tolerance for risk – gained 12.6 per cent in the year that ended Dec. 31, falling short of its benchmark of 13.4 per cent.
Over a four-year span, however, AIMCo earned an average of 7.8 per cent annually and added $35-billion to the fund, beating its benchmark over that period by 1.7 percentage points. That raised the fund’s average return over 10 years to 7.4 per cent.
AIMCo invests on behalf of 17 pension, endowment, insurance and government clients in Alberta. Its total assets increased to $179.6-billion, compared with $160.6-billion a year earlier.
The fund’s 2024 performance is the final measure of the three-and-a-half year tenure of former chief executive officer Evan Siddall, who joined AIMCo in 2021 and was working on a multiyear transformation plan for the organization when he was ousted in a sweeping purge last November.
Ray Gilmour, interim CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corp.Supplied
AIMCo’s interim CEO Ray Gilmour, who left a senior civil service post in Alberta’s government in November to help to lead the pension fund manager, said that “with its focus on long-term strategy, the AIMCo team delivered strong results for our clients during 2024,“ in a news release.
“This progress is a testament to the team’s ability to evaluate and seize opportunities, while skillfully navigating the volatile global investment landscape,” Mr. Gilmour said.
AIMCo did not make any senior executive available for an interview on Thursday, and neither Mr. Gilmour nor board chair and former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper have spoken publicly about their plans for the pension fund since they were appointed late last year.
AIMCo’s strongest gains last year came from its investments in publicly traded stocks, which earned a return of 24.7 per cent. The fund’s global head of public markets, Justin Lord, said 2024 was “another exceptional year for returns from public markets,” in a news release.
The private debt and loan portfolio gained 8.7 per cent, while money market and fixed income funds were up 4.6 per cent.
Infrastructure assets gained 12 per cent and private equity returns followed closely at 11.8 per cent. But AIMCo’s real estate portfolio reported a 2-per-cent loss, facing “difficult market conditions during 2024, particularly in the office sector,” said global head of private equity Peter Teti, in the news release.
When Alberta’s government overhauled AIMCo’s leadership late last year, Finance Minister Nate Horner said the changes were aimed at “restoring confidence” in AIMCo, controlling costs and improving performance.
The pension fund manager’s former interim board chair and other outside pension experts have questioned that rationale, suggesting that AIMCo’s costs and financial performance were consistent with industry standards and often beat internal benchmarks.
In February, AIMCo announced it is closing offices in Singapore and New York little more than a year after it opened them to cut costs, choosing instead to pursue global investment opportunities from its London office.
AIMCo will publish full details of its financial performance, including a breakdown of its 2024 costs, in its annual report in June. Though AIMCo releases details of its investment performance for the calendar year, its fiscal year ends March 31.