Ray Gilmour takes helm at AIMCO amid questions over costs, independence and long-term strategy
Alberta’s public pension manager has made permanent a leadership and governance reset that tightened political control over a fund created to operate at arm’s length from government.
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) has appointed Ray Gilmour as chief executive officer after he served as interim CEO since November 8, 2024, according to an AIMCo press release.
Board chair Stephen Harper said “The Board has complete confidence in Ray's clear management expertise and proven ability to excel, both as leader of this organization and as an effective steward of the funds AIMCo manages on behalf of its clients.”
Gilmour’s confirmation caps a sequence that began when Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner removed AIMCo’s entire independent board and fired then-CEO Evan Siddall, citing rising costs without commensurate performance, as reported by the Financial Post.
Horner said he wanted to “restore confidence in AIMCo” and “a low-cost provider,” according to CBC News.
The minister’s office highlighted a 71 percent increase in staff expenses and a 29 percent rise in employee numbers over four years, while assets rose to $166bn from $115bn.
The province reinforced its influence over the Crown corporation’s oversight.
Shortly after Gilmour became interim CEO, the Alberta government named Harper as chair and created a permanent unpaid board seat for the deputy minister of treasury board and finance “to ensure more consistent communications between AIMCo and Alberta’s government,” according to the Financial Post.
CBC News last year noted that when AIMCo was set up in 2007, the government barred MLAs from the board to protect independence, a rule cabinet temporarily set aside during the restructuring.
Pension and governance specialists have warned about the impact on investment autonomy and counterparties’ confidence.
Sebastien Betermier, executive director of the International Centre for Pension Management, told CBC News that the government’s intervention “goes the exact opposite way” of independence and “goes against the whole independence, the ability of the funds to work at an arm's length from government.”
He said the power to dismiss the board “any day” can unsettle partners on large co-investments, including Yorkdale Mall in Toronto and a UK rental housing venture.
Bob Baldwin, a veteran pension consultant and former chair of the CD Howe Institute’s pension policy council, told CBC News the wholesale board dismissal “struck me as a rather extreme reaction given the problems the government identified,” and said it raised questions about what else motivated the Smith government’s move.
Horner has said the decision is unrelated to the United Conservative Party’s consideration of leaving the Canada Pension Plan or to Premier Danielle Smith’s ambition to expand the $23bn Heritage Savings Trust Fund to $250bn by mid-century.
The governance changes matter directly to pension clients.
AIMCo manages pensions for teachers, municipal employees and judges, among others, according to the Financial Post.
CBC News reported that the Alberta Retired Teachers Association has flagged expenses and management fees as a concern compared with the smaller, previous educator fund operations.
Gilmour brings a largely governmental background rather than a traditional global asset-management profile.
Before joining AIMCo, he spent more than five years as Alberta’s deputy minister of executive council and previously served as deputy minister in finance, intergovernmental relations and infrastructure, as stated by AIMCo.
Earlier, he worked 15 years in banking and financial services, is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Saskatchewan.
In the press release, Gilmour said he has seen that the AIMCo team is “talented and committed to excellence” with “a deep sense of purpose to deliver long-term value for our clients,” adding, “I am proud to serve as AIMCo's CEO as we continue to grow and evolve in ways that enhance our ability to deliver for all of our stakeholders.”
Harper said the board and Gilmour are “committed to ensuring that AIMCo remains an admired institution that will continue to serve the best interests of Albertans for decades to come.”
