OPTrust CEO touts Canadian Pension Model in the U.K.

posting date Posted: September 14, 2016
print page Print this page Email link to page Email the link

 

September 14, 2016 (London, U.K.) – Coined Maple Revolutionaries by The Economist, pension plans around the world look to the Canadian pension model and the top funds for an example of how to get pensions right. 

OPTrust President & CEO Hugh O’Reilly is in London today to address MFS Investment Management’s Local Government Pension Scheme conference at a time of major reform in the U.K. and the challenge of implementation.

Mr. O’Reilly will share his experience leading OPTrust, one of Canada’s top 10 public pension funds, in an era of a low return investing market and long-term challenges of a rapidly transforming global environment. OPTrust’s example shows that there is much a pension plan can do to thrive, even in the toughest of conditions.

“Today the challenge OPTrust and other defined benefit pension plans face is how to create long-term sustainability for the members who count on us. Plan maturity, volatile investment markets, global events and persistent low interest rates mean that past investment strategies are not sustainable for the future,” said OPTrust President & CEO Hugh O’Reilly.

“Size is not a magic bullet that can single handily solve problems for pension funds. Building long-term sustainability means a shift in thinking to redefine traditional measures of success, and adapt strategies to ensure they are aligned with market realities and members’ interests,” adds Mr. O’Reilly.

OPTrust is one of Canada’s top 10 public pension organizations and the fifth largest public sector pension plan in Ontario. It has a global footprint with offices in Toronto, London and Sydney.

About OPTrust

With assets of $18.4 billion, OPTrust invests and manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds and administers the OPSEU Pension Plan, a defined benefit plan with almost 87,000 members and retirees. OPTrust was established to give plan members and the Government of Ontario an equal voice in the administration of the Plan and the investment of its assets, through joint trusteeship. OPTrust is governed by a 10-member Board of Trustees, five of whom are appointed by OPSEU and five by the Government of Ontario. 

- 30 -

For more information, contact OPTrust Communications:

Claire Prashaw
Manager, Public Affairs
416-681-3617
cprashaw@optrust.com