The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said it has moved into the black.

The crown corporation that manages stock market and real estate investments for the Canada Pension Plan said today that a $2.8-billion gain in the third quarter enabled it to move from a loss to a gain on its cumulative market investments since early 2002.

Entering the third quarter (ended Dec. 31), the investment board had accumulated a loss of more than $1.2 billion from the market meltdowns early this decade. But a $2.8-billion gain in the quarter eliminated the loss, leaving the fund with an accumulated profit of almost $1.6 billion.

The investment board manages $30.9 billion of Canada Pension Plan assets. The federal Department of Finance manages another $35.4 billion by investing in provincial and federal bonds and interest-paying bank accounts.