CIO points to broadening earnings and the 40% of assets AIMCo holds in Canada
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) closed the first half of 2026 with $210.7bn in assets under management, up from $194.7bn at the end of 2025.
The Canadian Press reported the increase, which carried the Crown corporation past the $200bn mark for the first time.
AIMCo's Balanced Fund, a composite of client accounts, returned 7.2 percent net for the six months ended June 30, 2026, generating a net investment return of $13.6bn, according to the manager's mid-year investment performance report.
The Total Fund, which reflects the aggregate of all client accounts, posted a net investment rate of return of 7.1 percent over the same period.
"We've seen the breadth of earnings growth increase, not just within the tech sector in particular, but across both geographies and sectors, with Canada performing very well also," Justin Lord, chief investment officer at AIMCo, told The Canadian Press in an interview.
Public equities was the strongest contributor to performance in the first half, AIMCo said in the report, benefiting from resilient corporate earnings and continued strength in artificial intelligence-related sectors and global equity markets.
Public fixed income, private mortgages, private debt and loan, and infrastructure also made positive contributions.
Private equity moderated overall returns amid lower transaction activity and valuation pressure in software-related investments, per the mid-year report.
The Balanced Fund held 31 percent in money market and fixed income, 38 percent in public equities and absolute return, and 31 percent in private markets as at June 30, 2026, based on AIMCo's asset mix disclosure.
Total Fund assets stood at $206.8bn on that measure, with the report noting that Total Fund calculations exclude $4.0bn of assets that do not meet the conditions for inclusion in AIMCo's excess returns.
Over longer horizons, AIMCo reported a four-year annualized net return of 9.9 percent and a 10-year annualized net return of 7.8 percent for the Balanced Fund, with the 10-year net investment return reaching $89.1bn.
Investors navigated a first half shaped by conflict in the Middle East, US trade policy uncertainty, and evolving inflation expectations, according to AIMCo's synopsis of the period.
The Canadian Press characterised the Middle East war as an energy shock and reported that trade tensions with the US intensified after talks between Canada and the US broke down late last week, with sweeping US tariffs now in effect in Canada and countertariffs pending.
More than 40 percent of AIMCo's assets are invested in Canada, Lord said in the same interview with The Canadian Press.
"We certainly have a strong interest in being a competitive and attractive investment environment here in our own backyard," Lord told the publication.
AIMCo also recorded several organizational changes in the first half.
Cecilia Menghini was appointed chief risk officer and Kelly Featherstone chief client relations officer, while Ursula Holmsten and Jin-Young Kim were named to the board of directors, the mid-year report stated.
AIMCo, alongside CCMP Capital Advisors, entered an agreement to sell BGIS to Veritas Capital.
