OMERS earns 4.8% net return in first half of year
Written by The Canadian Press on August 11, 2026
TORONTO — Pension fund manager OMERS says it earned a 4.8 per cent return for the first six months of 2026, boosted by its investments in public equities.
The Ontario fund manager says its net assets grew by $6.9 billion to $151.6 billion between the start of the year and June 30.
OMERS chief financial and strategy officer Jonathan Simmons says all asset classes contributed to the return on investment, but that its shares in publicly traded companies led the way.
He says the fund manager invested $1 billion in Canadian equities in the first half of the year, with plans to build on domestic holdings in areas ranging from infrastructure and real estate to hotels and tech.
Simmons says Canada carries “considerable potential” for more investment, even as roughly half of its holdings remain in the United States while a quarter are domestic.
The fund says it has added more than $78 billion to its pension plan over the last decade.
OMERS manages the defined-benefit pension fund for employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies across Ontario.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2026.
The Canadian Press