(February14 – 10:30 ET) – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says it received approximately $1 billion from the Canada Pension Plan in the third quarter of its current fiscal year. According to the CPP Investment Board, the market value of invested assets at Dec. 31, 2000 was $6.4 billion compared with $5.9 billion at Sept. 30, 2000.

As of December 31, the Canada Pension Plan had total assets of approximately $41.6 billion. In addition to the funds under management at Investment Board, the assets include a portfolio of $29.8 billion in provincial and federal government bonds as well as a short-term operating reserve. Both the bond portfolio and the operating reserve are administered by the federal government.

In determining its asset mix, the Investment Board says that it taken into consideration the amounts that are already invested in government bonds. As a result 100% of new investments by the Investment Board are allocated to equities, and invested primarily through index strategies.

During January the Investment Board raised the foreign content of its portfolio to the permitted level of 30%. This brings the proportion of equities in Canadian markets to approximately 70%.

Due to the decline in equity markets in Canada and around the world, the Investment Board experienced a loss during the quarter. The loss totalled approximately $453 million, offsetting earlier gains and resulting in a loss of approximately $64 million on a fiscal year-to-date basis.
-IE Staff