Statistics Canada is reporting that following a $6.1-billion loss in the first quarter, Canadian trustee pension funds bounced back with net income of $7.7-billion in the second quarter of 2020.
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds rose 3.2 per cent to $2.08-trillion in the second quarter, or 3.7 per cent year-over-year. This brings assets levels back to their pre-COVID levels.
Domestic assets were up, with pooled assets rising 4.7 per cent, while bonds rose 3.3 per cent, contributing to an overall 2.6 per cent increase in domestic assets. With the exception of short-term assets, which decreased 9.1 per cent and mortgages, which decreased 8.7 per cent, all domestic asset categories rose during the quarter. Categories posting the largest increases were pooled assets, which increased 4.7 per cent, bonds, which rose 3.3 per cent, and stocks which increased 2.4 per cent. Year-over-year domestic assets rose 6.4 per cent.
Foreign asset categories
Foreign asset categories were also up, with pooled assets rising 9.5 per cent and stocks rising 1.9 per cent, resulting in an overall 4.3 per cent increase in foreign assets. Pooled assets and stocks were the best performing categories, rising 9.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively. Foreign bonds decreased 5.6 per cent, while foreign short term investments fell 8.6 per cent. Overall, foreign assets were down 1.2 per cent, year-over-year.
Overall, Statistics Canada says the market value of assets of public and private sectors combined rose 3.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 and 3.7 per cent year-over-year.
