Both private equity and real estate posted negative returns for the Ontario-based Plan
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, one of Canada's largest institutional investors, reported a total-fund net return of 6.7 per cent for 2025 on Tuesday, bringing its net assets to $279.4 billion - up from $266.3 billion a year earlier, according to the Plan's press release.
While the result marks another year of positive growth, it fell short of the plan's benchmark return of 11.7 per cent, resulting in $12.0 billion in negative value add.
The fund saw strong performance from its venture growth, public equities, gold, and credit sectors. However, private equity, infrastructure, and real estate faced headwinds, with year-end valuation adjustments reflecting difficult market conditions in those divisions.
Currency movements also weighed on results, with a $1.2 billion foreign currency loss driven primarily by US dollar depreciation against the Canadian dollar, though proactive currency management limited the damage, the Plan said.
"We responded with disciplined year-end valuation adjustments to reflect current market conditions, which weighed on performance," said Jo Taylor, Ontario Teachers' president & CEO in a statement.
The fund's private equity holdings struggled in 2025, declining 5.3 per cent against a benchmark that rose 18 per cent. Real estate similarly underperformed, falling 3.1 per cent while its benchmark gained 2.2 per cent. On the other hand, public equities and venture growth stood out, each surpassing their double-digit benchmarks. Venture growth led the way with an impressive 30.2 per cent return.
"Our investment business delivered strong dollars earned and was able to successfully realize some key assets while proactively working to address challenging areas of the portfolio. Moving forward, our focus is on maintaining our sound funding position by delivering strong risk‑adjusted returns and continuing to deliver excellent service to our members," said Taylor.
Despite the benchmark gap, the plan remains on solid financial footing. According to the release, Ontario Teachers' is now fully funded for the 13th consecutive year, with a preliminary funding surplus of $31.2 billion as of January 1, 2026, up from $29.1 billion the prior year. The funding ratio improved to 111 per cent, up from 110 per cent in 2024.
Investment income totalled $18.5 billion for the year, supplemented by $4.1 billion in member and employer contributions. Those gains were partially offset by $8.5 billion in benefits paid and $1.0 billion in administrative expenses. The plan also achieved a 50 per cent reduction in portfolio carbon emissions intensity compared to its 2019 baseline, exceeding its 2025 target.
Looking ahead, Ontario Teachers' published a 2026–2030 Climate Strategy introducing a $70 billion target for Climate Transition Aligned assets by 2030, aiming to double from the current $35 billion level.
Ontario Teachers’ total annualized 10-year return is 6.8 per cent and the fund has delivered an annualized net return of 9.2 per cent since its inception in 1990.
