Canada’s biggest pension fund, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec , lost $8.55 billion in 2002 as equity markets slumped. Investments in the technology and media sectors hit the fund particularly hard.

The provincial pension manager said its loss for the year amounted to 9.57% of depositors’ net assets — almost 4 percentage points worse than the benchmark portfolio — and was the worst annual performance in its history.

The fund’s managers said more than half of its loss — approximately $4.94 billion — was due to weak stock markets.

“The financial markets were in turmoil for the third straight year. Toronto’s S&P/TSX Index lost 12.4% in 2002 and New York’s S&P 500 Index, 22.9%. Such a situation had not occurred since the stock market crash of 1929,” Caisse chairman and CEO Henri-Paul Rousseau said.

The fund’s investments in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors dragged down returns.

The Caisse’s investment in Quebecor Media alone contributed $1.35 billion to the fund’s loss for the year.

News of the poor returns came as Canada’s number two pension fund, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, announced an investment loss of 2% in 2002, beating its benchmark by almost three percentage points.