OMERS clocks 15.7% return for 2021

OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal sector employees in Ontario, has achieved a 15.7 percent return for 2021. The amount was net of expenses, which equates to $16.4 billion of net investment income.

OMERS said this return exceeded the plan’s absolute benchmark return of 6.6 percent by more than $9 billion, increasing its net assets to $121 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021.

The net investment return for the real estate and infrastructure asset classes were 15.9 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the asset mix for real assets included a 16 percent allocation to real estate — up from 14 percent in 2020 — and a 20 percent allocation to infrastructure, which remained the same from 2020.

“Our strategy of global diversification and a relentless focus on a portfolio of high-quality assets, delivered exceptional returns for our hard-working members in 2021,” said Blake Hutcheson, president and CEO of OMERS. “We are pleas