Ontario pension fund manager OMERS earned a return of 2.2% in the first half of 2025, net of expenses, it announced in a release Thursday.
The fund said this amounted to a gain of $3.1 billion for the period of Jan. 1 to June 30, 2025.
This brings OMERS’ cumulative 10-year net investment income figure to $70.2 billion, which represents a return of 6.9% earned between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2025.
Its net assets totalled $140.7 billion on June 30.
Jonathan Simmons, OMERS chief financial and strategy officer, said six of the pension fund’s seven asset classes delivered positive results in the first half, with infrastructure and public equities driving returns, supported by credit and bonds.
Currency fluctuations put a drag on the pension fund’s returns, with an overall negative 1.2% impact on its results, driven by a “significant decline in the U.S. dollar, and partially offset by strengthening of the British pound sterling and euro,” Simmons said.
The fund’s decision to hedge currencies, however, added nearly 1% to returns, he said.
Simmons also noted that private investment valuations and transaction activity, particularly in private equities and real estate, “continue to be held back by uncertainty in the global marketplace.”
Blake Hutcheson, OMERS president and CEO, said while the pension fund expects continued market volatility for the remainder of 2025, it remains optimistic that its diversified asset allocation “positions us well to see through this cycle.”
OMERS is one of the largest defined benefit pension plans in Canada, managing retirement income for more than 600,000 Ontario public sector employees.