‘There's a lot of focus on what their competitive advantage is,’ says KPMG’s John Cho
Canada’s so-called Maple Eight pension plans are recalibrating where and how they put money to work, with the shifts showing up in both asset mix and deal-making behaviour.
As KPMG’s John Cho suggests, the country’s largest pension funds are actively rechecking their mix after a sharp run in public equities and softer marks in parts of private markets, notably real estate, which has pushed some portfolios away from initial targets. He frames it as continuous, data-heavy review work that spans both strategy and geography, with teams reassessing exposures and pacing rather than making blunt shifts.
But as for geographical allocations, he argues the tilt toward Canada remains intentional, not incidental because many of the Maple Eight carry more domestic exposure than a GDP-weighted model would suggest. He believes that is by design given the competitive reality: sellers have no shortage of capital options, including increasingly active Middle Eastern investors in North America.
“They're actually over allocated but I would say in a world where finding a good investment opportunity is as challenging as ever, with so many options for sellers from a capital perspective and the growing relevance and impact of the Middle Eastern funds, especially in North America, there's no shortage of capital supply,” explained Cho, national private capital leader at KPMG Canada. “For the Maple Eight, there's a lot of focus on what their competitive advantage is more than ever.”
According to Cho, the traditional edge of Canada’s largest funds - writing very large, patient checks - is now a commodity because global capital providers, from long-term GP vehicles to sovereign wealth funds, can do the same. In a market flooded with capital, the Maple Eight are pivoting to what rivals can’t easily replicate: proprietary access, deep local networks, and ecosystem fluency, noted Cho.
He also stressed that the Canadian tilt is only half the equation. The other half is using their scale and reach to turn global information into repeatable decision advantages. That means systematically feeding insights from international portfolios, sector benches, and partners back into underwriting and portfolio management, so each strategy benefits from a growing internal data and IP base.
For Canada's pension funds, the goal is tighter pattern recognition, sharper risk filters, and faster conviction across markets by “leverage their global footprint” and institutional knowledge to make “even better decisions with each strategy,” underscored Cho.
Meanwhile, the country's largest plans are leaning on disciplined process to navigate a tougher, more crowded market. Risk comes first, and Cho argues their toolkit is a global differentiator.
“I believe the risk and governance framework within the Maple Eight are second to none globally. They're very skilled and very mature in how to manage risk. That is always top of mind for them,” noted Cho.
Yet, with that baseline, Canadian pension plans are beginning to channel capital into areas where they hold clear advantages. They’re being deliberate about pace and entry points, while resisting the urge to stretch into strategies that dilute outcomes.
“They're cutting through a lot of the noise to focus on the signals, their focus is on businesses they want they come up for sale and leveraging their relationship network to get into that, whether it be through their GP relationships or whether it be through other relationships. They’re being more purposeful in how they deploy capital,” explained Cho. “With that risk governance framework, along with the global footprint and a measured focus on harnessing their global knowledge base, that's how they're showing up and balancing.”
Cho frames the moment as a transition from expansion to refinement. While many organizations grew fast, they now have to consolidate consolidating gains, tighten decision rules, and consider what the next evolution is. That means aligning deployment with mandate obligations in a market that has more players, more structures, and more noise.
To that end, Cho argues the Maple Eight are doubling down on partnerships that add what they don’t need to build themselves, pointing to specialized operating capabilities, value-creation muscle, and advantaged origination in specific markets. This means they can deploy from a position of strength rather than chase breadth for its own sake. The lens is differentiation: work with counterparties whose tools, data, and operator benches complement their own so opportunities are found earlier and value is extracted faster, not noisier.
He also points to situations where counterparties bring local sourcing advantages so Canadian investors can align their capital and underwriting standards with partners who open doors and widen proprietary pipelines in key US pockets.
“[For the pension funds], it's really more of a focus on ‘What are my competitive advantages and how do I focus more on that as a position of strength to deploy more capital versus trying to be more things than I need to be to deploy capital in a very competitive environment,” said Cho.
