OMERS

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OMERS
Industry Pension funds
Predecessor Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
Founded 1962 (original)
2006 (current)
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Area served
Province of Ontario and nationwide
Key people
George Cooke (Chair, Administration Corporation)
Brian O'Keefe (Co-Chair, Sponsors Corporation)
Marianne Love (Co-Chair, Sponsors Corporation)
Michael Latimer (President and CEO)
Divisions Borealis Infrastructure
OMERS Capital Markets
OMERS Private Equity
OMERS Strategic Investments
Oxford Properties
Website omers.com

OMERS, officially the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is a pension fund created by statute in 1962 to handle the retirement benefits of local government employees in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has become one of the largest institutional investors in Canada.[1] Over the past 20 years approximately two-thirds of the capital added to the pension fund has been through investment returns, while about 1/3 has been added by contributions split evenly between employees and employers. As of December 2013, OMERS had 65.1 billion Canadian dollars in net investment assets.[2] OMERS serves 982 employers and almost 440,000 members, retirees and survivors, including municipal workers, firefighters, police, emergency services staff, Children's Aid Society workers, school board staff (non-teaching), and transit and hydro workers.[1]

Structure

OMERS is governed by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Act, 2006, an Ontario law which superseded the older Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act.

Under the 2006 law, OMERS is composed of two corporations:

  • The Administration Corporation, formerly known as the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board, is responsible for day-to-day operations, including management of pensions and investments.[3]
  • The Sponsors Corporation, which represents employer, employee and retiree members of the plan, is responsible for overall plan design and sets the rules for appointment and compensation of its own board and the Administration Corporation board.[3]

Investments

OMERS has five major investment divisions:[2]

  • Borealis Infrastructure, which invests in public infrastructure
  • OMERS Capital Markets, which manages investment in the public markets, such as government bonds and stock in publicly traded companies
  • OMERS Private Equity, which concentrates on private equity investment
  • Oxford Properties, which owns real estate such as office buildings and shopping centres
  • OMERS Strategic Investments, which includes a venture capital arm, OMERS Ventures.

Borealis Infrastructure

OMERS investment strategy since 2003 has been to increase its investment in infrastructure to 15% from the former 7.9%.[4] In addition to the corporate assets outlined below, Borealis owns 16 school buildings, leased to the Province of Nova Scotia, and 12 nursing home buildings, leased to the Province of Ontario.[5][6]

Outline of Borealis assets:[5]

OMERS Private Equity

Among the private companies OPE owns are Marketwire (purchased at the end of 2006)[13] and Oxford Properties (purchased at the beginning of 2003) [14]

OMERS and Apax Partners (a fund OMERS invests in) jointly own Cengage Learning, a large education resource company formerly known as Thomson Learning before OMERS and Apax Partners bought it on May 11, 2007. Some parts of Thomson Learning had been sold off to other groups before this sale. Among Cengage's major brands are Gale (formerly Thomson Gale) and Nelson Education (Nelson Canada, not Nelson USA Education). <templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Outline of OPE assets:[15]

See also

References

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  14. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/omers-to-buy-oxford-properties-for-1-5-billion-1.297344
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External links