BCI posts 10% pension return in fiscal 2025 despite real estate equity delivering losses
Management Corporation (BCI) reach a 10 percent return for its combined pension plan clients in fiscal 2025, despite market volatility near year-end.
The return reflects performance across BCI’s six largest pension clients, with gross assets under management growing to $295bn and net AUM totalling $251.6bn.
BCI reported long-term annualised returns of 8.9 percent over five years and 8.6 percent over 15 years. Since inception, it has delivered $9.3bn in cumulative value add.
The corporation said these returns continue to exceed actuarial discount rates.
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer Gordon Fyfe said BCI rolled out a resilient, defensive-leaning investment strategy in fiscal 2025.
He noted the approach was “closely aligned with our clients’ long-term investment needs” despite the severe market turbulence leading up to the March 31 year-end.
Fyfe said BCI’s long-term performance has helped pension clients maintain surplus positions, with funding ratios ranging from 103 to 133 percent.
“In all market conditions, great deals can still be found,” he said, adding that they are actively modelling client portfolios against various risk scenarios and using their strong liquidity position to transact across asset classes globally.
Asset class results
Private equity, fixed income, and public equities drove the year’s performance. All asset classes posted positive returns except for real estate equity.
Fixed income generated strong returns through active interest rate positioning and credit selection.
The Corporate Bond Fund expanded to $18.5bn in net AUM and the Principal Credit Fund to $19.4bn.
The group introduced asset-backed lending through three strategic partnerships, citing enhanced downside protection and flexibility during volatility.
BCI’s private equity team executed $2.2bn in new investments and exited positions in Hayfin Capital and Ziply Fiber—two of its five largest assets. The group also completed two secondary sales, generating $1.6bn in proceeds.
Public equities, particularly absolute return strategies, added positively to performance despite headwinds for active managers.
These strategies have produced a 16.1 percent annualised return since their inception in fiscal 2020.
BCI Infrastructure & Renewable Resources recorded 18 percent net AUM growth for the calendar year. The group completed $5.1bn in new investments in fiscal 2025.
Transactions included the take-private of BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A., and investments in Renewi PLC and the Shepherds Flat wind project.
Real estate results were mixed. The real estate debt portfolio delivered a positive return through selective deployment and active management.
Real estate equity posted the lone negative return, which BCI attributed to valuation adjustments driven by rising interest rates, not realized losses.
Positive income and strong fundamentals in industrial, alternative, and residential sectors supported the portfolio overall.
Responsible investing and broader footprint
BCI surpassed $6bn in cumulative sustainable bond participation, exceeding its 2025 target.
It also hosted its inaugural ESG Value Creation Conference for private equity and received a 100 percent score from the Global Sovereign Wealth Fund’s Governance, Sustainability and Resilience Scoreboard.
According to a 2024 study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, BCI’s activities contributed $24.4bn to British Columbia’s GDP, supported 225,800 jobs within the province, and impacted one in ten households.
The same study also noted 8,000 additional jobs created nationally and $12.2bn in wages across all age groups.
