Quebec’s largest public-pension plan manager missed its benchmark return of 9.2 per cent. Its real estate portfolio generated a 1.1 per cent return over five years, but was down 15.6 per cent last year—a reminder of COVID-19’s ravaging of shopping centres and office buildings. “In mid-March, the lights turned off around the world,” Caisse CEO Charles Émond said. (The Logic)

Talking point: Though markedly lower than its 2019 return, the Caisse nonetheless came a long way from the first six months of 2020, when it posted a -2.3 per cent return. Equities returned 12.4 per cent, according to a media presentation. The Caisse’s fixed-income portfolio beat its 8.2 per cent benchmark index with a nine per cent return, thanks in large part to falling interest rates in Canada and the United States. The annualized returns for the CDPQ were 7.8 per cent over five years and 8.6 per cent over 10 years.