Privina Ramanan of Private Debt Investor reports La Caisse looks to double its private credit portfolio in the next five years: 

Private credit has become a significant asset class for Canadian institutional investor La Caisse (formerly CDPQ) as it looks to double its exposure in the next five years.

Speaking to Private Debt Investor, the institution revealed that the team sees a lot of opportunity in the asset class. A predominant portion of its private credit activities are reserved for direct lending, but in the past five years it has added exposure through other complementary strategies.

La Caisse has four verticals in which it invests in private credit – corporate credit, infrastructure financing, real estate finance and capital solutions, which focuses on opportunities in asset-backed strategies for tangible and financial assets.

For corporate credit, the team has been looking at large unitranche deals but it also covers mid-market opportunities in specific sectors of interest, namely technology and software, healthcare, education, financial and business services.

In terms of regions, while La Caisse is a global investor, the private credit teams primarily focus on opportunities in Europe and North America, due to the depth of these markets and their scalability.

Alright, I saw this last week and my first thought was why come out now and let the world know you want to double your allocation to private credit when the asset class has all sorts of cracks forming?

Four days ago, the Financial Times reported on Blue Owl’s private credit fund U-turn, stressing buyout firms, but today Reuters is reporting the firm is considering reviving merger of private credit funds, contingent on fund's share price.

As Bloomberg rightly notes, in private credit, Blue Owl is the sum of all investor fears. 

Basically, we have an asset class that has enjoyed unprecedented strength and growth and hasn't been battle tested in a recession and that makes investors nervous.

Still, some of the industry's biggest investors have come out recently to defend the asset class, stating people have 'lost their minds' over private credit fears.  

I don't know, I don't put Apollo and Blackstone in the same boat as a lot of newer funds trying to capitalize on a trend.

Getting back to La Caisse, the head of Private Credit there is Jérôme Marquis who leads the Corporate and Infrastructure Credit, Real Estate Finance, Capital Solutions and Private Credit Portfolio Analysis teams. 

Most of the lending they do in private credit is in assets they back and know extremely well, but they also do unitranche deals in mid-market spaces where they are active in private equity namely, technology and software, healthcare, education, financial and business services.

Jérôme Marquis reports to Martin Longchamps, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity and Private Credit. 

When Marc Cormier retired, Private Credit left the Fixed Income group to merge with Private Equity.

There are some governance issues there but I'm sure they've sorted them out (typically Private Credit is part of Fixed Income or part of an overall Credit group like at CPP Investments, not part of Private Equity because you don't want those investing in funds also investing in the credit tranches backing those funds).

Anyway, Jérôme and his team are smart, they know what they're doing and I wouldn't be surprised if they are privately hoping for major dislocations in the asset class over the next five years so they can capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

All this to say, the timing of this announcement might seem odd (top pf the private credit market?) but it makes sense when you take a step back and understand their business and what they are doing there.

I can't add more to this comment without a full on discussion with Jérôme Marquis and  Martin Longchamps but I doubt I will gain access to them.

People get really nervous when it comes to Private Credit, they like to keep things close to their chest.

Below, Blue Owl had just announced it was scrapping a planned merger of two of its private credit funds, backtracking on a plan revealed Nov. 5 after scrutiny arose over the potential losses some investors would have to swallow as part of the deal. The parent company’s shares had fallen this week to the lowest level since 2023. Listen to this Bloomberg podcast.

Also, Apollo's Marc Rowan says he’s not worried about Jamie Dimon’s reference to hidden “cockroaches” in private credit.

It's that time of the year again where we get a sneak peek into the portfolios of the world's top money managers, with a 45-day lag. And in this market, 45 days is a lifetime because things change on an hourly basis.

This was a crazy week trading. I will first give you the list of symbols I'm tracking daily this week: AAPL, GOOG, AMD, AVGO, MU, NVDA, MSFT, AMZN, TSLA, META, CLS, ORCL, BE, OKLO.

Then, let's see what were the worst performing large cap US stocks this week:

Not surprisingly, with bitcoin hitting a fresh low of $84,100, down 11% this week, anything related to crypto got obliterated.

But there were other stocks like Micron (MU) that also got hit hard as did Oracle (ORCL), Palantir (PLTR) and a bunch of other high flyers like quantum computing stocks (see the full list here). 

Why am I sharing you this list of stocks that got dinged hard this week? Because I'm 100% confident these are the stocks big hedge funds are buying to close out their year.

That data will only be available on February 15th but I've been doing this long enough to know when Wall Street is manufacturing a bogus selloff and this week was a bogus selloff. 

They waited till Nvidia reported another blowout earnings report to sell the news and it just feels too well orchestrated.  

Never mind what Ray Dalio said on CNBC, listen to me, the stocks on this list are all going to rip higher next month and in January. 

The Fed will cut rates in December and off we go again into another rally which is likely going to start next week before US Thanksgiving then go on till Christmas and beyond (Santa Claus rally).

All this to say, I couldn't care less what hedge funds were buying last quarter, I live in the moment, and having traded long enough, I can feel when it's a bogus selloff and when it's the real deal. 

This isn't the real deal, the AI bubble is alive, you'll see it come back with a vengeance as hedge funds use weakness to reload again.

So, take at these filings with a gain of salt, use the weakness to load up on Micron, Oracle, Meta, and plenty of more stocks that are down 30, 40% or more in two months.

That's my best advice to you, enjoy your weekend!

The links below take you straight to the top holdings of top money managers and then click to see where they increased and decreased their holdings.

Top multi-strategy, event driven hedge funds and large hedge fund managers

As the name implies, these hedge funds invest across a wide variety of hedge fund strategies like L/S Equity, L/S credit, global macro, convertible arbitrage, risk arbitrage, volatility arbitrage, merger arbitrage, distressed debt and statistical pair trading. Below are links to the holdings of some top multi-strategy hedge funds I track closely:

1) Appaloosa LP

2) Citadel Advisors

3) Balyasny Asset Management

4) Point72 Asset Management (Steve Cohen)

5) Millennium Management

6) Farallon Capital Management

7) Shonfeld Strategic Partners 

8) Walleye Capital 

9) Verition Fund Management 

10) Peak6 Investments

11) Kingdon Capital Management

12) HBK Investments

13) Highbridge Capital Management

14) Highland Capital Management

15) Hudson Bay Capital Management

16) Pentwater Capital Management

17) Sculptor Capital Management (formerly known as Och-Ziff Capital Management)

18) ExodusPoint Capital Management

19) Carlson Capital Management

20) Magnetar Capital

21) Whitebox Advisors

22) QVT Financial 

23) Paloma Partners

24) Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors

25) York Capital Management

Top Global Macro Hedge Funds and Family Offices

These hedge funds gained notoriety because of George Soros, arguably the best and most famous hedge fund manager. Global macros typically invest across fixed income, currency, commodity and equity markets.

George Soros, Carl Icahn, Stanley Druckenmiller, Julian Robertson  have converted their hedge funds into family offices to manage their own money.

1) Soros Fund Management

2) Icahn Associates

3) Duquesne Family Office (Stanley Druckenmiller)

4) Bridgewater Associates

5) Pointstate Capital Partners 

6) Caxton Associates (Bruce Kovner)

7) Tudor Investment Corporation (Paul Tudor Jones)

8) Discovery Capital Management (Rob Citrone)

9) Moore Capital Management

10) Rokos Capital Management

11) Element Capital

12) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust (Michael Larson, the man behind Gates)

Top Quant and Market Neutral Hedge Funds

These funds use sophisticated mathematical algorithms to make their returns, typically using high-frequency models so they churn their portfolios often. A few of them have outstanding long-term track records and many believe quants are taking over the world. They typically only hire PhDs in mathematics, physics and computer science to develop their algorithms. Market neutral funds will engage in pair trading to remove market beta. Some are large asset managers that specialize in factor investing.

1) Alyeska Investment Group

2) Renaissance Technologies

3) DE Shaw & Co.

4) Two Sigma Investments

5) Cubist Systematic Strategies (a quant division of Point72)

6) Man Group

7) Analytic Investors

8) AQR Capital Management

9) Dimensional Fund Advisors

10) Quantitative Investment Management

11) Oxford Asset Management

12) PDT Partners

13) TPG Angelo Gordon

14) Quantitative Systematic Strategies

15) Quantitative Investment Management

16) Bayesian Capital Management

17) SABA Capital Management

18) Quadrature Capital

19) Simplex Trading

Top Deep Value, Activist, Growth at a Reasonable Price, Event Driven and Distressed Debt Funds

These are among the top long-only funds that everyone tracks. They include funds run by legendary investors like Warren Buffet, Seth Klarman, Ron Baron and Ken Fisher. Activist investors like to make investments in companies where management lacks the proper incentives to maximize shareholder value. They differ from traditional L/S hedge funds by having a more concentrated portfolio. Distressed debt funds typically invest in debt of a company but sometimes take equity positions.

1) Abrams Capital Management (the one-man wealth machine)

2) Berkshire Hathaway

3) TCI Fund Management

4) Baron Partners Fund (click here to view other Baron funds)

5) BHR Capital

6) Fisher Asset Management

7) Baupost Group

8) Fairfax Financial Holdings

9) Fairholme Capital

10) Gotham Asset Management

11) Fir Tree Partners

12) Elliott Investment Management (Paul Singer)

13) Jana Partners

14) Miller Value Partners (Bill Miller)

15) Highfields Capital Management

16) Eminence Capital

17) Pershing Square Capital Management

18) New Mountain Vantage  Advisers

19) Atlantic Investment Management

20) Polaris Capital Management

21) Third Point

22) Marcato Capital Management

23) Glenview Capital Management

24) Apollo Management

25) Avenue Capital

26) Armistice Capital

27) Blue Harbor Group

28) Brigade Capital Management

29) Caspian Capital

30) Kerrisdale Advisers

31) Knighthead Capital Management

32) Relational Investors

33) Roystone Capital Management

34) Scopia Capital Management

35) Schneider Capital Management

36) ValueAct Capital

37) Vulcan Value Partners

38) Okumus Fund Management

39) Eagle Capital Management

40) Sasco Capital

41) Lyrical Asset Management

42) Gabelli Funds

43) Brave Warrior Advisors

44) Matrix Asset Advisors

45) Jet Capital

46) Conatus Capital Management

47) Starboard Value

48) Pzena Investment Management

49) Trian Fund Management

50) Oaktree Capital Management

51) Fayez Sarofim & Co 

52) Southeastern Asset Management 

Top Long/Short Hedge Funds

These hedge funds go long shares they think will rise in value and short those they think will fall. Along with global macro funds, they command the bulk of hedge fund assets. There are many L/S funds but here is a small sample of some well-known funds.

1) Adage Capital Management

2) Viking Global Investors

3) Greenlight Capital

4) Maverick Capital

5) Pointstate Capital Partners 

6) Marathon Asset Management

7) Tiger Global Management (Chase Coleman)

8) Coatue Management

9) D1 Capital Partners

10) Artis Capital Management

11) Fox Point Capital Management

12) Jabre Capital Partners

13) Lone Pine Capital

14) Paulson & Co.

15) Bronson Point Management

16) Hoplite Capital Management

17) LSV Asset Management

18) Hussman Strategic Advisors

19) Cantillon Capital Management

20) Brookside Capital Management

21) Blue Ridge Capital

22) Iridian Asset Management

23) Clough Capital Partners

24) GLG Partners LP

25) Cadence Capital Management

26) Honeycomb Asset Management

27) New Mountain Vantage

28) Penserra Capital Management

29) Eminence Capital

30) Steadfast Capital Management

31) Brookside Capital Management

32) PAR Capital Capital Management

33) Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co

34) Brahman Capital

35) Bridger Management 

36) Kensico Capital Management

37) Kynikos Associates

38) Soroban Capital Partners

39) Passport Capital

40) Pennant Capital Management

41) Mason Capital Management

42) Tide Point Capital Management

43) Sirios Capital Management 

44) Hayman Capital Management

45) Highside Capital Management

46) Tremblant Capital Group

47) Decade Capital Management

48) Suvretta Capital Management

49) Bloom Tree Partners

50) Cadian Capital Management

51) Matrix Capital Management

52) Senvest Partners

53) Falcon Edge Capital Management

54) Park West Asset Management

55) Melvin Capital Partners (Plotkin shut down Melvin after reeling rom Redditor attack)

56) Owl Creek Asset Management

57) Portolan Capital Management

58) Proxima Capital Management

59) Tourbillon Capital Partners

60) Impala Asset Management

61) Valinor Management

62) Marshall Wace

63) Light Street Capital Management

64) Rock Springs Capital Management

65) Rubric Capital Management

66) Whale Rock Capital

67) Skye Global Management

68) York Capital Management

69) Zweig-Dimenna Associates

Top Sector and Specialized Funds

I like tracking activity funds that specialize in real estate, biotech, healthcare, retail and other sectors like mid, small and micro caps. Here are some funds worth tracking closely.

1) Avoro Capital Advisors (formerly Venbio Select Advisors)

2) Baker Brothers Advisors

3) Perceptive Advisors

4) RTW Investments

5) Healthcor Management

6) Orbimed Advisors

7) Deerfield Management

8) BB Biotech AG

9) Birchview Capital

10) Ghost Tree Capital

11) Soleus Capital Management

12) Oracle Investment Management

13) Palo Alto Investors

14) Consonance Capital Management

15) Camber Capital Management

16) Redmile Group

17) Casdin Capital

18) Bridger Capital Management

19) Boxer Capital

20) Omega Fund Management

21) Bridgeway Capital Management

22) Cohen & Steers

23) Cardinal Capital Management

24) Munder Capital Management

25) Diamondhill Capital Management 

26) Cortina Asset Management

27) Geneva Capital Management

28) Criterion Capital Management

29) Daruma Capital Management

30) 12 West Capital Management

31) RA Capital Management

32) Sarissa Capital Management

33) Rock Springs Capital Management

34) Senzar Asset Management

35) Paradigm Biocapital Advisors

36) Sphera Funds

37) Tang Capital Management

38) Thomson Horstmann & Bryant

39) Ecor1 Capital

40) Opaleye Management

41) NEA Management Company

42) Sofinnova Investments 

43) Great Point Partners

44) Tekla Capital Management

45) Van Berkom and Associates

Mutual Funds and Asset Managers

Mutual funds and large asset managers are not hedge funds but their sheer size makes them important players. Some asset managers have excellent track records. Below, are a few funds investors track closely.

1) Fidelity

2) BlackRock Inc

3) Wellington Management

4) AQR Capital Management

5) Sands Capital Management

6) Brookfield Asset Management

7) Dodge & Cox

8) Eaton Vance Management

9) Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.

10) Geode Capital Management

11) Goldman Sachs Group

12) JP Morgan Chase & Co.

13) Morgan Stanley

14) Manulife Asset Management

15) UBS Asset Management

16) Barclays Global Investor

17) Epoch Investment Partners

18) Thornburg Investment Management

19) Kornitzer Capital Management

20) Batterymarch Financial Management

21) Tocqueville Asset Management

22) Neuberger Berman

23) Winslow Capital Management

24) Herndon Capital Management

25) Artisan Partners

26) Great West Life Insurance Management

27) Lazard Asset Management 

28) Janus Capital Management

29) Franklin Resources

30) Capital Research Global Investors

31) T. Rowe Price

32) First Eagle Investment Management

33) Frontier Capital Management

34) Akre Capital Management

35) Brandywine Global

36) Brown Capital Management

37) Victory Capital Management

38) Orbis Allan Gray

39) Ariel Investments 

40) ARK Investment Management

Canadian Asset Managers

Here are a few Canadian funds I track closely:

1) Addenda Capital

2) Letko, Brosseau and Associates

3) Fiera Capital Corporation

4) West Face Capital

5) Hexavest

6) 1832 Asset Management

7) Jarislowsky, Fraser

8) Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management

9) TD Asset Management

10) CIBC Asset Management

11) Beutel, Goodman & Co

12) Greystone Managed Investments

13) Mackenzie Financial Corporation

14) Great West Life Assurance Co

15) Guardian Capital

16) Scotia Capital

17) AGF Investments

18) Montrusco Bolton

19) CI Investments

20) Venator Capital Management

21) Van Berkom and Associates

22) Formula Growth

23) Hillsdale Investment Management

Pension Funds, Endowment Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Fed's Swiss Surrogate

Last but not least, I the track activity of some pension funds, endowment, sovereign wealth funds and the Swiss National Bank (aka the Fed's Swiss surrogate). Below, a sample of the funds I track closely:

1) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMco)

2) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

3) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

4) Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

5) OMERS Administration Corp.

6) Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

7) British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

8) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)

9) PGGM Investments

10) APG All Pensions Group

11) California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)

12) California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)

13) New York State Common Fund

14) New York State Teachers Retirement System

15) State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

16) State of Wisconsin Investment Board

17) State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund

18) Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

19) STRS Ohio

20) Teacher Retirement System of Texas

21) Virginia Retirement Systems

22) TIAA CREF investment Management

23) Harvard Management Co.

24) Norges Bank

25) Nordea Investment Management

26) Korea Investment Corp.

27) Singapore Temasek Holdings 

28) Yale Endowment Fund

29) Swiss National Bank (aka, the Fed's Swiss surrogate)

Below, Bill Eigen, JPMorgan Asset Management CIO of absolute return fixed income, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's interest rate decision, latest market trends, what to make of the recent volatility, health of the private credit market, and more.

Also, John Stoltzfus, Oppenheimer chief investment strategist, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss where to look for market opportunities, the sectors the strategist favors and much more.

Third, Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz chief economist, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the Federal Reserve's December rate decision, if equity markets will impact the Fed and much more.

Lastly, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss concerns over an AI bubble, the history of economic bubbles, what investors can do in response to bubble fears, state of private credit market, problems around debt, his thoughts on bitcoin, and more.

Christie Ou of PERE reports OTPP disbands Asia real estate team amid regional retrenchment:

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is disbanding its Asia real estate team, marking the latest step in the Canadian pension fund’s gradual pullback from the region, PERE has learned.

The investor will transition oversight of its Asia real estate investments to its headquarters in Toronto by the end of 2026, according to PERE‘s sources. This decision follows the departure of Jun Ando, OTPP’s head of real estate Asia-Pacific, in September, per a prior PERE report. The organization has yet to name a new head of real estate for the region. Additionally, Singapore-based real estate director Waqar Zahid is set to relocate back to Toronto, according to two PERE sources.

“We recently made the strategic decision to transition oversight of our real estate portfolio in APAC to our Toronto office by the end of next year. This decision impacts a small number of our colleagues who will either relocate to Toronto or leave the organization in phases,” an OTPP spokesperson told PERE.

“This change simplifies our operating structure in real estate, which continues to be a core component of our diversified portfolio at approximately 11 percent of our asset mix. The Asia-Pacific region continues to be part of our long-term strategy, and we have approximately 8 percent of our asset mix in the region.”

As of December 31, 2024, OTPP reported C$29.4 billion ($21 billion; €18.1 billion) in real estate assets under management, with 64 percent of its portfolio in Canada, 16 percent in the US, 11 percent in Europe, 5 percent in Latin America and 4 percent in Asia-Pacific, according to its annual report.

The decision to disband the Asia real estate team comes just a few years after OTPP returned to the market in 2021, when it committed $400 million to Hines Asia Property Partners, marking the investor’s first property investment in the region since the early 2000s, according to a PERE report. In 2023, OTPP also partnered with Sydney-based manager Gateway Capital to launch the Gateway Capital Urban Logistics Partnership, a vehicle targeting a A$1 billion ($655 million; €566 million) portfolio of industrial and logistics assets along Australia’s east coast.

The dismantling of its Asia real estate team is part of a broader trend of OTPP scaling back its presence in the region. The pension fund currently has C$25 billion in total AUM across Asia-Pacific. In March, OTPP announced the closure of its Hong Kong office, which had been operational since 2013. This move followed a series of reductions, including the shuttering of its China equity investment team in 2023 and layoffs within its Asia venture and growth equity team in 2024, according to a Reuters report.

OTPP’s retrenchment in Asia has also been accompanied by significant leadership changes. In 2023, Ben Chan, head of Asia-Pacific, and Raju Ruparelia, who led direct investments in the region, both departed the organization, according to a report by affiliate title Private Equity International. These exits followed the dismantling of OTPP’s Asia-Pacific equity investment team, which resulted in the loss of five roles in Hong Kong.

The retrenchment reflects broader trends among global institutional investors, many of which are re-evaluating their exposure to Asia. Fellow Canadian public pension fund Alberta Investment Management Corporation, for example, closed its Asia office in Singapore in February, shortly after its opening in 2023, amid efforts to streamline resources.

Layan Odey and Echo Wong of Bloomberg also report Ontario Teachers to make cuts to Asia real estate team:

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will disband its Singapore-based Asia real estate team by the end of next year, further paring its physical presence in the region. 

“This change simplifies our operating structure in real estate,” a spokesperson for the Canadian pension fund said about its plan to wind down the Asia division. OTPP will transition oversight of its property investments in Asia to its Toronto office, and affected staffers in Singapore will either relocate there “or leave the organization in phases,” the spokesperson said.

The Singapore-based real estate team currently has around five individuals, a person familiar with the matter said. OTPP has 30 to 40 employees in the city-state, including investment professionals who focus on private equity and infrastructure assets in Asia.

OTPP earlier this year decided to shut down its Hong Kong office and reduce its exposure to China amid rising geopolitical tensions, Bloomberg News reported in March. That wind-down process is expected to take around 18 months.

“The Asia-Pacific region continues to be part of our long- term strategy,” the fund’s spokesman said, adding that OTPP has approximately 8% of its “asset mix” in the region.

Globally, real estate makes up 11% of the pension fund’s total assets, which stood at C$269.6 billion ($192 billion) at the end of June. Private Equity Real Estate earlier reported the Singapore real estate team changes.

Another Canadian pension fund, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is cutting Asia buyout team as the pension reassesses its strategy, Bloomberg News reported last month.

You can read about OMERS dismissing its entire Asia buyout team here.

So what's this all about? Basically deal flow or lack of deal flow. 

If you're going to your board of directors to justify boots on the ground in Asia, paying them big compensation, they better deliver the goods or else shut it down the operations and invest in funds that are delivering the goods (pay more in fees but it's the price you pay to gain exposure in Asia).

Asia real estate is a tough market. OTPP isn't the only one that cut its staff there. London based ICG shut down its real estate business there after three years. 

OTPP's Head of Real Estate Pierre Cherki runs a lean team and their focus is mostly on North America and Europe.

He and Jenny Hammarlund recently discussed Ontario Teachers’ real estate reset and clearly the APAC region isn't part of their main focus now.

It's not that there aren't opportunities in Asia, there are especially in Tokyo, Singapore and Sidney, but if you don't have edge there, invest with those that do or get out of the market altogether. 

Moreover, while ULI and PwC found a mood of cautious optimism among real estate professionals in Asia, they report considerable disparities in markets and sectors across the region:

Stuart Porter, Asia Pacific real estate leader, PwC Global Real Estate leadership team, says: “Within a disparate Asia market, what you can discern is that rising rents have cushioned the prospects of rate pressures, global capital pivots further towards the robust markets of Japan and Australia, and construction costs have somewhat redirected focus from new development to disciplined asset management.

“Data centers remain the darlings of the investment world, though assumptions are subject to challenge by the bargaining power of tenants, power capacity constraints, and technological advances. AI [artificial intelligence] is in the early stages of transforming middle and back-office roles and operations while elevating the value of operational expertise. Use of AI might temper the office recovery, even as ‘work from home’ largely dissipates.”

Mark Cooper, senior director, Thought Leadership, ULI Asia Pacific, adds: “Real estate investors expect a more amenable interest rate environment in 2026, with falling rates in markets such as Australia and South Korea and only minor rises from a very low base in Japan. While Asia Pacific faces many challenges, it is still home to the bulk of the world’s growth, and this supports real estate investment in the long term.” 

You can read the full report here.

As far as OMERS, its new head of Private Equity, Alexander Fraser, is clearly outlining his strategy focusing on North America and Europe and will strategically do buyouts in Asia via funds where warranted.

There is not much else to report here, just keep in mind in order to justify employees in Asia or anywhere, they need to deliver to make up for their expenses and that's not always easy in every region.

Below, TPG's latest Investment Insights episode featuring Joel Thickins, Co-Head of TPG Asia and Head of Australia & New Zealand. He shares his perspective on Asia’s macro landscape, highlighting structural tailwinds and growth in alternatives across the region. 

He also explores investment opportunities in Australia, framed by increasing trade opportunities with the Asia-Pacific markets. With 30+ years in Asia, TPG combines sector specialization, operational value-add, and the strength of our global franchise and ecosystem to build regional market leaders and foster long-term growth.

My two cents, if you can't beat the TPGs and KKRs of this world in Asia-Pacific, you shouldn't have employees in this region trying to go it alone.

Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning. 

Finally, the first #JobsDay since the shutdown! The latest data out today is for September before the shutdown began on October 1.

Highlights:
– payroll employment up 119k for Sept while August change was revised down to below zero
– unemployment rate ticked up 3 months in a row to 4.4%

#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 7:42 AM

Even with the faster than expected growth in payroll employment for September, downward revisions for July and August meant that combined July+Aug job growth was 33k less than originally reported. Over the last three months, job growth averaged 62k with small losses in both June and August.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM

Job gains were strongest in leisure and hospitality and health care while there were losses in transportation and warehousing and professional and business services. Manufacturing, mining, and the federal government also registered losses. On net, 119k jobs added in September.
#EconSky #NumbersDay

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:11 AM

Federal cuts continue to cost jobs as federal employment fell another 3k in Sept. Federal employment is down 97k since January. The full extent of the federal job losses won’t be seen until we get data for October after upwards of 100k additional federal workers left payrolls after Sept 30.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:17 AM

The household survey is a useful read on the labor market for various demographic groups. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, its highest since 2021. While a more volatile series, the data show high Black unemployment, holding steady at 7.5% in September, and 1.5 ppts higher than May.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:28 AM

In addition to Black unemployment, I’ve been keeping my eye on the unemployment rate for young workers. With depressed hires, I’m concerned about the ability for young workers to break into the labor market. Their unemployment rate has been steadily rising for much of the last 2 1/2 years.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:36 AM

Aleksandra Sagan of The Logic reports B.C. pension fund manager creates joint venture to use quantum tech for better investing:

British Columbia Investment Management Corp. said Monday it has joined forces with Quantum Algorithms Institute, a B.C.-based non-profit working to accelerate the adoption of quantum technologies. CEO Gordon J. Fyfe said QAI will help it “prepare for the risks and opportunities ahead.” (The Logic)

Talking point: The two will identify ways to optimize BCI’s portfolio, risk assessment and financial modelling with quantum technologies, as well as improve security standards. The latter has been a focus for BCI for some time. BCI said in its most recent annual report that it is “preparing… to be post-quantum ready, ensuring our data and systems remain secure.” BCI, which manages investments for 32 public sector clients such as pension funds, has $295 billion in gross assets under management, according to its most recent annual report. It has invested in quantum tech previously, backing B.C.-based Photonic Inc. since 2021. 

Bloomberg also covered this story here.

On Monday, BCI issued a press release to state that in has entered into a joint venture with QAI to be "post-quantum ready": 

Joint initiative reinforces British Columbia as a hub for quantum innovation in Canada 

VICTORIA, BC – November 17, 2025 – British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), one of Canada’s largest institutional investors, and the Quantum Algorithms Institute (QAI), a non-profit organization supporting adoption of quantum technologies in British Columbia, today announced a joint initiative to advance post-quantum readiness.  

“Working with QAI gives us access to world-class quantum expertise as we prepare for the risks and opportunities ahead,” said Gordon J. Fyfe, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at BCI. “Quantum computing will impact how investors around the world protect systems and approach complex investment scenarios. We are positioning BCI to leverage this technology for business advantage as it becomes more widely available.” 

Together, BCI and QAI will work to identify quantum investment applications for portfolio optimization, risk assessment, and financial modeling, while implementing post-quantum security standards to support BCI’s long-term operational resilience. QAI will use the insights gained through this hands-on experience to support quantum preparedness across British Columbia and Canada’s business ecosystems.  

“With quantum computers expected to be commercially viable within three to five years, this collaboration will offer critical learnings that extend beyond BCI,” said Louise Turner, Chief Executive Officer of QAI. “We’re developing playbooks and use cases that can help other organizations – from governments to small businesses – build their own quantum readiness.” 

BCI’s quantum experience extends beyond operations to its global portfolio. This includes investments like Photonic Inc., a British Columbia-based quantum computing company backed since 2021, which offered early insight into the technology’s evolution and commercial potential. The joint initiative with QAI builds on this strong foundation and BCI’s broader commitment to accelerating innovation.  

I suggest you visit Quantum Algorithms Institute's site to understand what they are doing and how they can help BCI improve its investment operations, bolster its investment and operational risk management. 

Before you dismiss this as a bunch of quantum computing malarkey which admittedly was my first impulse, I invite you to read this KPMG insight paper on data safety in the quantum computing age:

Today’s world runs on data, from emails and passwords to financial and medical records, from factories, schools and armies to energy grids and telecommunications networks. And encryption protects this data, preventing criminals and hackers and other bad actors from getting their hands on this precious resource.

While cracking encryption would take a traditional computer billions of years, with the emergence of quantum computing these codes could potentially be broken in hours. It is possible that encrypted data may have already been stolen, with the anticipation that in the next decade or so, quantum computers might be able to decrypt this information. That’s a concerning prospect when you consider that certain types of data should be kept secure for many years or decades. These include health records and financial information, defense designs, autonomous systems and critical infrastructure, like payment systems, telecommunications and energy supply.

Misuse of data has a real-world impact on people. When hackers are able to steal individuals’ identities to misdirect payments (such as house deposits or salaries), apply for credit cards or passports, or file for government benefits, the impacts to respective financial systems could stretch to trillions of dollars. Organizations could fall prey to phishing and malware attacks, leading to business interruption, ransoms and negative publicity.

This is not a future problem but an immediate issue. On the one hand, numerous governments, companies and researchers are racing to scale up their quantum computing systems, with many technology companies producing quantum roadmaps towards large, error-corrected quantum computers. On the other hand, these organizations are also seeking smart ways to make it harder to crack encryption, by producing quantum-safe cryptosystems. Nor is it just a technological threat; there are likely to be regulations that could leave organizations facing penalties for failing to meet encryption standards, as well as being locked out of defense, national security, health and government contracts, as procurement requirements are updated.

In the US, for example, the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Actopens in a new tab requires federal government agencies to “adopt technology that will protect against quantum computing attacks.”1 The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) has updated its guidelines for cryptography and information security.2,3 And in February 2025, Europol hosted a Quantum Safe Financial Forum (QSFF) event, calling on financial institutions and policymakers to prioritize the transition to quantum-safe cryptography.4 Which has been followed by a European Commission transition timeline for critical infrastructure, starting in 2026 and to be completed by 2030.5 As quantum computing evolves, and the cyber threat increases, we can expect to see an increase in industry-specific frameworks, regulations, and best practice guidelines.

Creating a quantum-resilient organization

Encryption is typically implemented by internal IT teams, cloud and software providers. However, despite being totally reliant on encryption, many organizations know relatively little about how and where the data they use is encrypted. This magnifies the challenge of quantum resilience, which now calls for an understanding of both your own cryptographic implementation as well as all dependent systems.

To protect against quantum cyber risk, organizations should adopt post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms, which resist the efforts of powerful quantum computers. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has already made such algorithms available. Transitioning to PQC is a major effort over several years, involving the entire enterprise — not just IT — preferably overseen by a cross-organizational encryption leader.

PQC algorithms would need to be implemented in various software solutions, including key libraries, digital signatures and authentication. Given the scale of the task, it’s important to broaden cyber expertise, plan budgets, and empower teams to manage this increasing risk, as part of a multi-year transition effort.

Organizations should aim to build a cryptographic bill of materials (CBOM), to better understand what encryption is being used, and where. The CBOM lists all the cryptographic assets employed across software (including software-as-a-service), services, and infrastructure — within the enterprise and across the supply chain. It’s also vital to assess the level of risk of each asset, to prioritize high-value data — which varies between sectors. For consumer companies, for example, customer data is paramount; in life sciences, intellectual property is especially valuable. Other organizations may be keen to protect financial, operational, and employee information.

These key efforts support the development of a roadmap for discovery, assessment, management, remediation and monitoring the transition to quantum resilience, and coping with ongoing risk. This requires coordination across the IT estate. With so many players involved in encryption, contractual agreements with third parties should specify appropriate levels of quantum cybersecurity and clarify how the PQC transition can be harmonized. Procurement strategies, whether for devices or software, should also be updated to include quantum-resistant technologies, so that these IT investments can support PQC requirements during their lifetime.

As is already the case it's vital to review data retention policies, to reduce the time that sensitive data is stored and only retain data that’s absolutely necessary, while deleting data no longer needed. To maintain operational continuity, organizations should make appropriate enhancements to security controls (based upon their unique risk profile) to integrate PQC, and to select and test quantum-safe, cryptographically agile solutions in their IT infrastructure, ahead of full deployment.

Get started

It is not yet a full quantum computing world, but it soon will be. As they prepare to adopt PQC, IT leaders should be aware that this is not a standalone project but a transition to a new business-as-usual. It will take several years and impact the entire enterprise, calling for multiple internal and external stakeholders to build a willing coalition. With bad actors always seeking to find ways to break encryption, organizations should continually re-evaluate their defenses. Getting started now, with a carefully managed plan for PQC transition, can help to keep one step ahead, maintain resilience and operations, with safe, secure, data. 

What this tells me is quantum computing is already here, you need to prepare for consequences, thinking strategically to play good defence and offence (seizing opportunities as they arise).

Will BCI's joint venture with QAI make it quantum prepared? I have no idea, at least they got the ball rolling here and other large pension funds will surely follow.

Lastly, if BCI can afford quantum computing, it can afford to pay its tab for Pension Pulse (just sayin').

Below,  within a decade, quantum computers will be able to break virtually any encryption algorithm in use today. What used to be science fiction is on its way to becoming a commercial reality. Once that happens, quantum computers will be able to crack in minutes what was supposed to be unbreakable for more than a century using the most powerful computers available. 

Erik Wood, senior director of cryptography and product security at Infineon, talks about cryptographically relevant computers, how they work, and how that will affect computer architectures and chip design  

Layan Odeh and Paula Sambo of Bloomberg report CPP Investment Board revamps growth equity after uneven returns:

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is revamping a private equity strategy that focuses on high-growth companies after getting mixed results in the strategy, according to people familiar with the matter.

The pension manager’s growth equity group holds stakes in about 30 companies, mostly in various subsectors of technology, including artificial intelligence and financial tech. But after a flurry of dealmaking in 2021 and 2022, the team has dramatically slowed the rate of new direct investments following a period of soft returns.

Lately, it’s shifted some assets into a different portfolio, and it plans to lean heavily on third-party managers to source new investment ideas, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters.

Canada’s largest pension fund invested in about four firms over the past few months, including putting US$75 million into OpenAI and participating in Wealthsimple Financial Corp.’s latest equity round. But it’s only done a handful of other direct investments in the growth equity category since the beginning of 2024.

The fund’s San Francisco office is closing at the end of this year, and the new head of growth equity, Max Miller, has relocated to Toronto, a spokesperson said. There are three other managing directors within the group, according to its website. Lisa Conway recently joined the pension fund from Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.

 

Michel Leduc, the pension manager’s head of public affairs and communications, said the slowdown in deal activity is related to the correction that took place in technology and growth companies after the COVID pandemic eased and interest rates shot higher, starting in 2022. Deal flow is picking up again, he said, and he predicted that there’s more activity to come. 

“The current fiscal year will represent one of our biggest years ever for direct investing in growth equity companies,” Leduc said. The private equity department, which includes the growth team, has always relied on a partnership model and there’s no change in that or the team’s “appetite” to invest directly, he added.

Miller became leader of the growth equity team in June — the third person to hold that role since 2023 — taking over from Monica Adractas, who’s becoming an adviser to the $732 billion fund. He reports to CPPIB’s head of funds Afsaneh Lebel, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The fund doesn’t disclose the returns of its growth equity portfolio, but performance has been uneven, according to people familiar with the matter.

Typically, growth equity investments fall somewhere in between venture capital and traditional buyouts, seeking to provide capital to businesses that are more established than startups but are still accelerating. CPPIB has been investing in these kinds of companies for many years, but made the decision three years ago to highlight the group as a distinct entity within its larger private equity division.

At the time, Suyi Kim, then global head of private equity, said her investment team had “all the elements required to build a formal growth equity practice that was truly one of a kind, on a global scale.”

CPPIB was not alone in making bets on growth stocks, which surged during the pandemic era of ultra-low interest rates. About half of CPPIB’s growth equity direct holdings were made between 2020 and 2022, according to its website. But tech sector valuations got crunched when the cost of capital changed.

Some of investments have shown huge progress, such as software firm Databricks Inc., which recently raised money at a $100 billion valuation, and KoBold Metals Co., which is searching for lithium and other minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is backed by billionaires including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

CPPIB also scored recent gains when two of its holdings, Klarna Group Plc and Netskope Inc., went public and attracted strong investor interest.

Others have had notable public stumbles. Shares of Sana Biotechnology Inc have plunged more than 80% since it went public in 2021. CPPIB invested in the firm in 2019.

Plaid Inc., a fintech that acts as a middleman between financial institutions and startups, raised money in April at a $6.1 billion valuation, less than half of what it was worth in 2021, when CPPIB invested in it. Another of its holdings from that year, Canadian chip startup Untether AI, began winding down operations in June, with its team moving to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. CPPIB no longer holds this investment, said the person.

The portfolio also includes N26, Germany’s largest digital-only bank, which is undergoing a shakeup that led to the departure of its co-chief executive officer after the country’s financial regulator identified deficiencies in the bank’s internal controls.

A few months ago, the pension plan had around 40 companies in its growth equity portfolio, but the fund has exited some investments and moved others to another entity called Integrated Strategies Group, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The group, which sits within the office of the chief investment officer, was created in 2023 to manage holdings that no longer fit within traditional investment departments.

CPPIB manages money of behalf of tens of millions of Canadian workers. 

I read this last week and take some statements in this article with a pinch of salt.

To be brutally honest, it doesn't surprise me, all these growth equity teams exhibit plenty of failures and a few successes and we are far from the pandemic heyday of 2020-2022 where rates were at zero and everyone was (literally) throwing money at public and private tech shares.

In short, rates have normalized as Michael Leduc rightly notes, valuations came down and in some cases, came down a lot.

Now we are living through another tech selloff in public markets. November has been brutal for megacap tech shares and guess what, all that trickles down to private markets as well (less appetite for risk taking in growth equity).

Look, I've seen a lot in 30+ years and I know one thing, when winter comes to VC and Growth Equity land, it's brutal.

CPP Investments wasn't the only large Canadian pension fund manager to rejig its growth equity team this year. OMERS did as well back in July.  

There are really good, smart people working at these groups but when the tide turns, it's rough. 

Personally, I would separate Growth Equity from Private Equity as I see them as two separate businesses.

Growth Equity is a lot riskier, can deliver huge returns or really lousy ones.

And when they're lousy, they're really lousy, can be a real drag on returns.

In other related private equity news, CPP Investments' Head of Secondaries, Dushy Sivanithy, recently announced on LinkedIn he's leaving the organization after seven years:

 

I honestly didn't expect that as he's a star on that Private Equity team but he obviously got poached away and I do wish him all the best in his next gig.

Tom Kapsimalis is now the Head of Secondaries at CPP Investments and he's another very experienced professional who I'm sure will do a great job handling this critical portfolio.

What else? Last week, CPP Investments announced net assets totalled $777.5 billion at the end of the second quarter fiscal 2026. You can read the details here and highlights below: 

• Net assets increase by $45.8 billion
• 10-year net return of 8.8%
• CPP Investments recognized once again for its transparency, as we ranked first among Canadian peers and second among 75 pension funds globally in the 2025 Global Pension Transparency Benchmark

Lastly, I want to congratulate CEO John Graham for winning the Eisenhower Global Citizenship Award at the 2025 Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Awards Gala.

The award was presented by Blackstone President & COO Jon Gray and just for background:

The 2025 Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Awards Gala will take place in New York City on Monday, November 10, honoring leaders who embodies the theme “70 Years of Enduring Parterships.” BCIU recognized the outstanding achievements of the following honorees:

• John Graham, President and Chief Executive Officer of CPP Investments, received the Eisenhower Global Citizenship Award
• Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel and Founder, Citadel Securities, will receive the Eisenhower Global Innovation Award
• María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, will receive the Eisenhower Award

Pretty impressive to be named alongside Ken Griffin and Maria Corina Machado who also won the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

Alright, let me wrap it up there.

Below, CNBC’s “Closing Bell” team discusses tech valuations with Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business.