CPP Investments Net Assets Total $714.4 Billion at 2025 Fiscal Year End
Press Release
Highlights1:
- Net income of $59.8 billion, one of the highest levels in our history
- Net annual return of 9.3% in fiscal 2025
- Net annual return of 14.2% in calendar 2024
- 10-year net return of 8.3%
- Cumulative net income of $492.1 billion since inception in 1999
TORONTO, ON (May 21, 2025): Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) ended its fiscal year on March 31, 2025, with net assets of $714.4 billion, compared to $632.3 billion at the end of fiscal 2024. The $82.1 billion increase in net assets consisted of $59.8 billion in net income and $22.3 billion in net transfers from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
The Fund, which consists of the base CPP and additional CPP accounts, generated a net return of 9.3% for the fiscal year. Since the CPP is designed to serve multiple generations of beneficiaries, evaluating the performance of CPP Investments over extended periods is more suitable than in single years. The Fund returned a 10-year annualized net return of 8.3%. Since CPP Investments first started investing the Fund in 1999, it has contributed $492.1 billion in cumulative net income, which is approximately 70% of its value today, with the balance attributed to net contributions.
“The Fund’s performance during the fiscal year was strong, with all investment departments contributing to one of the highest levels of annual net income in our history — despite market headwinds in the final quarter,” said John Graham, President & CEO. “The Fund remains on solid financial footing and is well-positioned to deliver long-term value for current and future generations of Canadians.”
On a calendar-year basis, the Fund delivered a 14.2% net return, reflecting strong global equity market growth during that period, compared to a lower return environment in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
The multi-strategy platform employed by CPP Investments continues to deliver value. Strong returns across multiple assets classes were instrumental in driving the Fund’s fiscal year results. Public equities, especially in the U.S. and China, delivered gains despite geopolitical and trade-related headwinds in the fourth quarter. Investments in private equities and infrastructure contributed positively to returns, as did credit, which benefited from tightening credit spreads. The strengthening of other currencies against the Canadian dollar was a significant contributor to gains across our asset classes for the year.
“Our portfolio – diversified across sectors, themes, asset types and geographic markets – is built for the long term. And while we’re not immune to short-term market shifts, our strategy is designed to remain resilient despite periodic fluctuations,” added Graham. “Our investment strategy continues to deliver, earning $492.1 billion in cumulative net income since we started investing the Fund more than 25 years ago. By investing today in high-quality opportunities – from technology to infrastructure – we’re positioning the Fund to deliver steady returns over the long term.”
“In times of uncertainty, Canadians can take comfort in knowing that the CPP is designed to support them in retirement,” added Graham. “At CPP Investments, our team is working diligently to help ensure the Fund remains financially strong for generations to come. In fact, in 2024, approximately six million Canadians received their CPP benefits.”
Performance of the Base and Additional CPP Accounts
The base CPP account ended the fiscal year on March 31, 2025, with net assets of $655.8 billion, compared to $593.8 billion at the end of fiscal 2024. The $62.0 billion increase in net assets consisted of $55.8 billion in net income and $6.2 billion in net transfers from the base CPP. The base CPP account’s net return for the fiscal year was 9.3% and the 10-year annualized net return was 8.4%.
The additional CPP account ended the fiscal year on March 31, 2025, with net assets of $58.6 billion, compared to $38.5 billion at the end of fiscal 2024. The $20.1 billion increase in net assets consisted of $4.0 billion in net income and $16.1 billion in net transfers from the additional CPP. The additional CPP account’s net return for the fiscal year was 8.5% and the annualized net return since inception was 6.1%.
The additional CPP was designed with a different legislative funding profile and contribution rate compared to the base CPP. Given the differences in its design, the additional CPP has had a different market risk target and investment profile since its inception in 2019. As a result of these differences, we expect the performance of the additional CPP to generally differ from that of the base CPP.
Furthermore, due to the differences in its net contribution profile, the additional CPP account’s assets are also expected to grow at a much faster rate than those in the base CPP account.
Long-Term Financial Sustainability
Every three years, the Office of the Chief Actuary of Canada, an independent federal body that provides checks and balances on the future costs of the CPP, evaluates the financial sustainability of the CPP over a long period. In the most recent triennial review published in December 2022, the Chief Actuary reaffirmed that, as at December 31, 2021, both the base and additional CPP continue to be financially sustainable over the long term at the legislated contribution rates.
The Chief Actuary’s projections are based on the assumption that, over the 75 years following 2021, the base CPP account will earn an average annual rate of return of 3.69% above the rate of Canadian consumer price inflation. The corresponding assumption is that the additional CPP account will earn an average annual real rate of return of 3.27%.
Relative Performance
The CPP is designed to serve today’s contributors and beneficiaries while looking ahead to future decades and across multiple generations. CPP Investments was created to invest and help grow the Fund, maximizing returns without undue risk of loss.
In fiscal 2025, the benchmark portfolios replaced the market risk targets (previously known as the reference portfolios) as our benchmark against which relative performance is measured. The benchmark portfolios provide target allocations for our active and balancing investment strategies. We construct the benchmark portfolios by aggregating the public market index benchmarks that serve as passive, investible alternatives for each individual investment strategy.
Prior to the introduction of the benchmark portfolios, the market risk targets served as both our performance benchmark and a representation of our targeted level of market risk. Over time, however, the market risk targets became less aligned with the targeted exposures of our investment portfolios. During the first era of active management, the composition of the reference portfolio matched that of the base CPP investment portfolio. Over time, the development and growth of a multi-strategy platform made the reference portfolio significantly less diversified than a sophisticated global portfolio that is representative of CPP Investments’ statutory mandate, rendering it an inadequate measure of performance today. The benchmark portfolios better reflect our diversified investment approach and long-term strategy, offering performance benchmarking that is more relevant and accurate today as an alternative passive strategy to the investment portfolios compared to the earlier era.
CPP Investments’ performance relative to the benchmark portfolios is measured in percentage terms, after deducting all costs, known as value added.
On a relative basis, the Fund’s 10-year return outperformed the aggregated benchmark portfolios, generating 1.4% in value added. This amounts to billions of dollars that are attributable to active management (after costs). The benchmark portfolios’ fiscal 2025 return of 10.9% exceeded the Fund’s net return of 9.3% by 1.6%.
The benchmark portfolios’ outperformance in fiscal 2025 was primarily due to strong double-digit returns from levered global public equity indexes. While the Fund’s diversified asset mix helps reduce the impact of sharp equity market declines, it can also limit participation in equity market rallies, such as those reflected in the benchmark portfolios’ public market indexes.
For information on which of our decisions we believe are adding the most value, please refer to page 39 of the CPP Investments Fiscal 2025 Annual Report.
Asset Class and Geography Composition
CPP Investments, inclusive of both the base CPP and additional CPP investment portfolios, is diversified across asset classes and geographic markets.
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