MONTREAL - The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec had a 10.04 per cent average return on its investments last year -- helping Canada's largest pension fund manager begin to recover from a record loss that it suffered in 2008.
With a strong second half of the year, the Caisse's assets climbed to $131.6 billion by the end of 2009, up from $120.1 billion in 2008.
The Caisse still underperformed its peers and ended the year in the bottom 25 per cent of large Canadian investors -- but the fund manager considered 2009 a turning point.
In 2008, the Caisse's returns under different leadership decreased by 25 per cent for a loss of $40 billion.
The Caisse noted it did better in the second half of 2009, with returns in the last six months 1.4 per cent above other large pension fund managers. In the first half of the year, it was five per cent below the benchmark index.
