CPPIB Misses 13.2% Benchmark With 7.8% Return for 3rd Straight Year
Updated
Updated · Toronto Star · May 21
CPPIB Misses 13.2% Benchmark With 7.8% Return for 3rd Straight Year
4 articles · Updated · Toronto Star · May 21
$793.3 billion in assets under management capped fiscal 2026 for CPPIB, but its 7.8% net return trailed the benchmark’s 13.2%, extending underperformance to a third straight year.
John Graham said mega-cap tech stocks drove a disproportionate share of benchmark gains, while CPPIB’s more diversified portfolio was also hit by geopolitical uncertainty, market volatility and currency swings.
Infrastructure, energy and public equities still supported results, and CPPIB said the fund remains focused on long-term absolute returns rather than concentrating in a single asset class to match benchmark surges.
The results land days after scrutiny of CPPIB’s benchmark changes and pay practices: the fund said its 10-year return beat the new benchmark by 0.7 percentage points, while the Toronto Star calculated a 1.9-point lag versus the old one.
How did Canada's pension fund change its own report card to obscure years of underperformance?
After costing pensioners $100B, why did Canada's pension fund managers receive multi-million dollar pay raises?
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s 2025 Report: Benchmark Controversy, High Costs, and Global Investment Risks
Overview
In fiscal 2025, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) underperformed its benchmark for the third year in a row. In response, CPPIB adopted new benchmark portfolios, which changed how investment managers measure their success. Critics saw this as 'moving the goalposts' because the fund could not meet its previous targets. The new benchmarks made past performance look better, raising concerns about transparency. This adjustment also led to higher performance-based compensation for staff, fueling further criticism and questions about whether the changes truly reflected improved results or simply justified increased payouts.