British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
 | |
 Headquarters at 750 Pandora | |
| BCI | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Pension fund |
| Founded | July 1999 |
| Headquarters | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
Key people | Peter Milburn (Chairman) Gordon Fyfe (CEO & CIO) |
| AUM | CA$233 billion (March 2023) |
Number of employees | 711 (March 2023) |
| Subsidiaries | QuadReal Property Group |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation which uses the trade name BCI, is a Canadian company established by way of the 1999 Public Sector Pension Plans Act to provide investment services to British Columbia’s public sector pensions plans. It invests in multiple asset classes which are in both public and private markets. The majority of its investments are in North America.
Background[edit]
In July 1999, the Legislature of British Columbia created BCI to provide investment management services to British Columbia's public sector pension plans and other Crown entities through the 1999 Public Sector Pension Plans Act. It started by managing assets previously managed by British Columbia's Ministry of Finance. BCI was modeled after other Canadian pension plan investment managers such as Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.[2][3][4]
In July 2016, BCI formed QuadReal Property Group to manage real estate investments. This was in line with other Canadian pension plan investment managers which also had their own real estate investment arms.[5][6]
In June 2018, CBC News reported that more than $3 billion of BCI's investments were in the top 200 publicly traded oil and gas companies according to a report. This was in contrast to Canada's commitment Paris Agreement that aimed to tackle climate change. The report stated BCI's investments in fossil fuel companies were "both a moral failing and a financial risk" and that BCI should divest from them and reinvest in more sustainable companies. A spokesperson of BCI stated that BCI looked at investments that generated reliable returns which included companies in the oil and gas industry but that didn't mean it was ignoring the Paris Agreement.[7]
In 2021, BCI's private equity strategy had a one-year return of 29.6% and a five-year return of 21.5%. This was a result of transitioning to direct investments which started in 2016.[4][8] In the same year, BCI announce it would target CA$5 billion of cumulative investments in sustainability bonds by 2025 as part of its ESG strategy.[9]
In March 2022, BCI stated it would divest from Russian companies in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10]
In 2022, BCI opened an office in New York. It was also announced that are currently plans to open an office in London by the end of 2023 to expand operations into Europe.[8]
For its 2023 fiscal year, BCI reported a 3.5% return which beat the benchmark of 0.3%. The gains were mainly from private assets which included private equity.[11]
In May 2023, due to rising tensions between Canada and China, BCI paused all further investments in China.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "BCI Annual Report - 2022-2023 Corporate Annual Report". uberflip.bci.ca.
- ^ "Canada (Attorney General) v. British Columbia Investment Management Corp. - SCC Cases". scc-csc.lexum.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Public Sector Pension Plans Act". www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Falconer, Kirk (July 27, 2021). "BCI private equity outperforms last year, continues push to directs". Buyouts. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "BCIMC takes real estate into its own hands". The Globe and Mail. June 2, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Morris, Meghan (June 17, 2016). "A separate piece for bcIMC". PERE. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Lindsay, Bethany (June 25, 2018). "Report urges B.C.'s public sector pension funds to divest from fossil fuels". CBC News.
- ^ a b Falconer, Kirk (January 11, 2023). "After planting a flag in NYC, BCI private equity sets its sights on Europe". Buyouts. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "British Columbia Pension Seeks $4 Billion in Green Bonds by 2025". Bloomberg.com. February 19, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Singh, Kanishka (March 2, 2022). "British Columbia's public sector pension fund divesting from Russian companies". Reuters. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "B.C. pension manager posts positive return in 2022 despite market turbulence". The Globe and Mail. June 27, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "A $158 Billion Canada Pension Manager Hits Pause on China Deals". Bloomberg.com. May 11, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
