The Canadian pension-fund giant posted an investment loss of 2.7 per cent in 2020, blaming lockdowns, stock-market losses in the first half of the year and reductions in foreign-currency hedging to protect against losses from a weakening Canadian dollar. The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System invests on behalf of the pension plans of more than half a million municipal employees across Ontario. (The Logic)

Talking point: OMERS’s 2020 results were a long way from meeting its investment benchmark of 6.9 per cent. The fund was quick to point out it is a long-term investor, however, with a 10-year average annual return before 2020 of 8.2 per cent. “This single year will not define us,” said chief executive Blake Hutcheson in a release. Lockdown-related markdowns in OMERS’ real estate and private equity investments accounted for more than half of the loss, with retail, transportation and entertainment performing particularly poorly.