The pension fund wrote off $150 million in investments.
The Caisse de dépt et placement du Québec had a negative return for the first half of the year.
The photo was taken by Allen McInnis.
The Caisse de dépt et placement du Québec had a negative return for the first six months of the year, which was the worst period for stock and bond markets over the past 50 years.
The $29.2 billion decrease in net assets was due to investment losses and net deposits.
The first six months of the year were difficult. spiking inflation that triggered rapid and sharp interest rate hikes, rare simultaneous corrections in both stock and bond markets, fears of an economic downturn and the war in Ukraine were some of the factors that we faced.
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board had a positive return on Monday.
During a conference call to discuss the Caisse results, Emond said that the Quebec pension fund has written off a $150 million investment in Celsius Network.
The Caisse is considering its legal options and plans to preserve its rights in the court-monitored U.S. proceedings.
He said that the last chapter hadn't been written.
Emond's team did extensive due diligence. They underestimated the time it would take to resolve the management and regulatory issues at Celsius. The Caisse was interested in block chain technology and perhaps the investment was made too soon in the company's development.
The investment was a small part of a large venture portfolio that has produced 35 percent returns over the past five years.
There are ups and downs in disruptive technology. Emond said that there were some big winners and a lot of loser.
The Caisse had a negative return for the first six months of the year, but it was still better than the benchmark portfolio which had a negative return.
The pension manager said that over five and 10 years the returns were 6.1 and 8.3 per cent.
Emond said that the Caisse is managing theurbulence with a combination of assetdiversification and strategic adjustments made.
We have been working in an environment of extreme change for the past two years. The conditions will persist for a while.
We will be watching to see what central banks do to contain inflation.
Negative returns in equity and fixed income were partially offset by gains in the Caisse's investments in real assets.
The pension giant posted a negative return in fixed income, which was better than the benchmark portfolio's negative return. The value added was attributed to all credit activities.
The negative return in the benchmark portfolio was more than the negative return in the equities.
The Caisse had a 7.9 per cent six-month return on their real estate and infrastructure portfolios.
The real asset class performance was better than the benchmark portfolio.
The asset class was involved. The two portfolios are doing well according to Emond.
It's difficult to compare the short-term performance of Canadian pension funds because they have different mandates and investment models. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan had more exposure to natural resources and commodities in the first half of the year than the Caisse.
The email is bshecter@postmedia.
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