On April 20, Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive Officer of CDPQ, received from Diego López, Founder and Managing Director of Global SWF, the physical award “Fund of the Year” at the headquarters of the Canadian pension manager in Montréal.
Since 2020, the New York-based consultancy and data specialist has been recognizing the work of State-Owned Investors globally on merits around sustainability, financial performance, and dual mandate and domestic development, among other criteria. The 2020 award went to Saudi Arabia’s PIF and was received by Deputy Governor Yazeed Al Humied, and the 2021 prize went to Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and was received by Chief Strategy & Risk Officer Ahmed Al Calily. The 2022 recognition for CDPQ read:
“For its impact in the development of Québec, for its leadership among sovereign investors and public investors worldwide, for its significant investment activity during 2022, and, more broadly, for its contribution to the advancement of the industry, Global SWF believes that Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a worthy recipient of the 2022 Fund of the Year award.”
CDPQ has demonstrated to be a trailblazer in both sustainability practices and domestic investment programs. On the former, it was one of the first Sovereign Investors to introduce staff compensation schemes linked to carbon emission goals, it is part of the steering committee of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (represented by Mr. Emond), and it recently issued a very ambitious climate strategy. On the latter, its Québec program (managed by Mr. Emond before he became CEO) is one of the largest among Canadian funds with US$ 58 billion (20% of the total AuM) invested in the province, and it will soon inaugurate a light metro rapid transit system (“REM”) that will change the landscape of Greater Montreal.
The international footprint of CDPQ has also grown significantly, with 75% of its portfolio invested outside Canada, and nine offices with circa 200 employees sitting overseas. The London office will grow from 60 to 100 personnel, with the views of deploying US$ 11.2 billion in European private markets with a focus on healthcare, technology, and renewable energy opportunities. As of December 31, 2022, the pension manager had a portfolio of US$ 63 billion in Europe and a portfolio of US$ 44 billion in Asia-Pacific.
Lastly, Global SWF has quantified CDPQ’s best practices thanks to the GSR Scoreboard, which looks at the Governance, Sustainability and Resilience efforts by Sovereign Investors annually. Both in 2021 and 2022, the Québec fund scored 96%, only missing one point related to the disclosure of its depositors. The latest assessment will only be published on July 1 this year, but we expect CDPQ to be among the best scoring institutions globally, once again.
