IMCO launched to manage $60 bln in Ontario institutional assets

The Investment Management Corp of Ontario (IMCO), a Toronto manager of institutional assets, has officially commenced operations. IMCO was formed by the Ontario government in 2016 to provide public sector funds with scale and give them access to private-market investments. It will oversee $60 billion in assets from two members, Ontario Pension Board (OPB) and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Bert Clark, formerly the head of Infrastructure Ontario, became IMCO’s first president and CEO in 2016. Its first CIO will be Jill Pepall, who joins from OPB.

PRESS RELEASE

OPB announces launch of IMCO

TORONTO, July 24, 2017 – Ontario Pension Board (OPB) is pleased to announce that the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) has officially commenced operations and is now managing the combined $60 billion of assets for both OPB and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

IMCO’s launch is the result of more than 6 years of work between OPB and WSIB to create an asset pooling arrangement that provides broader public sector plans with scale and direct access to private market investments. While OPB and WSIB are the first two plans to pool their assets under IMCO’s management, the intent is to have other broader public sector entities participate in the future.

“We believe asset pooling will allow us to earn higher returns than we could on our own and is in the best interest of our plan beneficiaries and stakeholders. Pooling our assets under IMCO’s management will provide us with the scale we need to achieve cost efficiencies and to invest directly in a diverse range of high-quality investments,” said President and CEO Mark Fuller.

OPB continues to own its assets and liabilities and set the Plan’s Strategic Asset Allocation mix and has maintained a Head of Investments, Ken Lusk to oversee IMCO’s management of the Plan’s assets. For more information on IMCO and asset pooling, see OPB’s 2016 Annual Report at http://reports.opb.ca/2016/imco.php.

About Ontario Pension Board
Ontario Pension Board (OPB) administers Ontario’s Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP), a defined benefit pension plan serving approximately 41,000 active members and their employers, as well as more than 43,000 retired and former members. The PSPP is one of Canada’s largest and oldest pension plans, successfully delivering the pension promise since the early 1920s. To learn more about OPB, visit www.opb.ca.

For more information:
Ileana Brito
Manager, Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Pension Board
ileana.brito@opb.ca