State-owned corporation | |
Industry |
Pension fund Investment management |
Founded | December 31, 1997 |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Key people
|
Heather Monroe-Blum (Chairperson) Mark Machin (President & CEO) |
AUM | $298.1 Billion (December 2016) |
Owner | Government of Canada |
Website | www |
The CPP Investment Board, formally the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, to oversee and invest the funds contributed to and held by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). As of December 31, 2016, the CPP Investment Board manages over C$298 billion in investment assets for the Canada Pension Plan on behalf of 19 million Canadians.
The Canada Pension Plan was first established in 1966. For much of its history, the plan relied on contributions to pay benefits. By 1996, the federal government had determined that the CPP as currently constituted was unsustainable. Major changes to the plan occurred, leading to a gradual increase in the contribution rate to its current 9.9% and the creation of the CPP Investment Board.
Under the direction of then Minister of Finance Paul Martin, the CPP Investment Board was created by an Act of Parliament in 1997 as an independent, but accountable, body to monitor the funds held by the Canada Pension Plan. The CPP Investment Board began its investing program in 1999, establishing the CPP Reserve Fund to hold investment earnings and CPP contributions not needed to pay current pensions. It reports quarterly to the public on its performance, has a professional board of directors to oversee the operations of the CPP reserve fund, and also to plan changes in direction. As a Crown corporation, the CPP Investment Board is accountable to Parliament and reports annually through the Minister of Finance. While accountable to Parliament, the CPP Investment Board is not controlled by the government or subject to government appointments, its employees and directors are not part of the Public Service of Canada.
The CPP Investment Board's mandate is laid out in its founding legislation, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act (S.C. 1997, c. 40). Its sole investing mandate is to achieve a "maximum rate of return, without undue risk of loss."