TELUS Health has released the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds for the first quarter of 2025.
According to the report, in the first quarter of 2025, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 0.8 per cent before management fees.
"The stock markets showed mixed performance during the first quarter of 2025 amid a more volatile economic environment. The S&P/TSX Composite Index posted a return of 1.5 per cent for the quarter. For the same period, the MSCI World Index posted a return of negative 1.7 per cent (in Canadian dollars). The S&P 500 equity index decreased by 4.4 per cent (in Canadian dollars) and the Emerging Markets Index increased by 3.0 per cent (in Canadian dollars).", said Jean Bergeron, a Partner in the TELUS Health Investment Consulting team.
"The funded status of a typical pension plan decreased on a solvency basis throughout the first quarter of 2025. We estimate that the solvency ratio of an average pension fund declined by about 2.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, primarily due underperformance across most asset classes." added Jean Bergeron.
During the first quarter of 2025, diversified pooled fund managers achieved, on average, a return slightly below that of the benchmark portfolio. Indeed, the median return of managers (0.8 per cent) was 0.1 per cent lower than the return of the benchmark portfolio used by many pension funds (with an allocation of 55 per cent equity and 45 per cent fixed income).
Click here to read the March 2025 report.