HOOPP readies cash for pipelines and power lines but sees few tangible deals yet
Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) says it has capital ready for Canadian “nation-building” projects but cannot deploy it until Ottawa brings forward concrete opportunities, according to Reuters.
HOOPP chief investment officer Michael Wissell said the plan stands ready to invest in the large projects Prime Minister Mark Carney outlined last year, including pipelines, infrastructure and mines, provided the federal government clarifies which projects will proceed and at what scale.
“We have the capital available right now to make those investments. We’re just waiting for those opportunities to manifest themselves,” he said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Wissell stressed that HOOPP needs specific proposals before it can allocate capital.
“Show me the investment, we need to see tangible investments ... some opportunities are starting to develop and we have seen a few things more than we’ve seen in the past,” he said.
He added that some of those commitments could go into regulated infrastructure such as power lines and Canadian pipelines if they fit the fund’s 2030 climate goals.
The federal Major Projects Office has committed to a two-year timeline for project decisions and said it is “far ahead of schedule” in supporting several projects as they approach final investment decisions.
Wissell said he remains optimistic and expects more pension funds to step in as policymakers move from “theoretical opportunities into tangible direct opportunities,” Reuters reported.
Behind that stance, HOOPP reported a 7.7 percent return last year, supported by strong equity markets.
The Globe and Mail reported that the plan leaned on a 22.2 percent gain in its portfolio of publicly traded stocks after it increased its equity holdings when US President Donald Trump announced broad and punitive tariffs.
Over 10 years, HOOPP delivered an average annual return of 7.8 percent.
Despite the solid headline figure, HOOPP’s one-year result lagged its 8.6 percent benchmark, partly because of difficulties with two specific positions, one in infrastructure and another in private credit, The Globe and Mail reported.
The newspaper said returns from private assets such as real estate and private equity came under pressure amid high inflation, slower deal-making and wide gaps between buyer and seller price expectations.
“It was obviously a year full of lots of complexity,” chief executive officer Annesley Wallace said. “Particularly in that context, we feel good about the 7.7-per-cent return,” she told The Globe and Mail.
On the balance sheet, Reuters reported that HOOPP had net assets of $131.9bn (US$97.07bn) at the end of 2025.
The Globe and Mail separately reported that net assets rose to $132bn from $123bn a year earlier and that the plan is 109 percent funded, meaning it has $1.09 for every dollar it expects to pay in pensions.
HOOPP’s asset mix remains heavily domestic but continues to shift.
Reuters said the plan invested 49 percent of its funds in Canada last year, slightly below 50 percent in 2024, while its US allocation increased to 29 percent from 27 percent as it expanded US inflation-linked bonds.
Relative to peers, The Globe and Mail reported that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec posted a 9.3 percent gain for 2025, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System returned 6 percent and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan generated 6.7 percent.
The political and capital backdrop may also be turning more favourable for domestic deployment.
At a conference on Tuesday, Royal Bank of Canada chief executive officer Dave McKay said he expects more capital to circulate within Canada as the Carney government represents a “complete, 180-degree pivot” from 10 years ago to diversify trade, according to Reuters.
“Canada has been a net exporter (of capital). There is a chance to index that a bit higher for Canadian infrastructure and you’ll probably see some of that money stay home,” he said.
