It was one of dozens of “value-added” strategies managed internally by AIMCo’s public equities team, but when markets went haywire with a level of volatility last seen on 1987’s Black Monday, the risky strategy quickly magnified losses.
Wiseman would not comment on the CPP decision, expected this spring, but he said AIMCo’s unique set-up requires a strong partnership with all clients, which range from the pension plans for Alberta judges, teachers, government, and university employees, to the province’s Heritage Savings Trust. Under Wiseman, a search is underway for a new CEO after current CEO Kevin Uebelein announced he would depart by June, before his contract expires.Current AIMCo CEO Kevin Uebelein.Another step taken in the wake of the volatility losses is the formation of a four-member “enterprise” risk committeecreated last month to monitor and manage risks to the organization that are not strictly financial — including reputation.
He also spent four years at the helm of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension management organization — and, like AIMCo, a Crown corporation that operates at arms-length from government. That experience from 2012 until 2016 will undoubtedly help AIMCo should Kenney decide to extract Albertans’ share of CPP and create a home-grown version managed by the provincial asset manager.
“One bad year or one bad mistake is never fatal for a public sector pension plan,” Hamilton said. “You acknowledge your mistake, learn from it … then you move on.”Article contentA private members’ bill introduced by Alberta’s NDP finance critic in December sought to get AIMCo clients a seat at the boardroom table, and better access to the investment manager’s governance and how investment decisions are made.
“My view for AIMCo is that very simply, Albertans — regardless of what assets are managed by AIMCo, whether that’s expanded or not — deserve a world class public asset manager for the province that can benefit from all the scale and scope benefits that are set forth in the Canadian model,” he said.Article content
How about not losing billions of dollars.