The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) reported a loss of 7.9 per cent for the first six months of this year.
CDPQ chief executive Charles Emond says the first half of the year was very challenging with a mix of factors including corrections in both stock and bond markets, fears of an economic downturn and the war in Ukraine.
The Quebec investment manager says the result compared with a loss of 10.5 per cent by its benchmark portfolio.
The fund’s real assets, which include its real estate and infrastructure portfolios, gained 7.9 per cent for the six-month period, while its fixed income holdings lost 13.1 per cent and CDPQ’s equities fell 10.6 per cent.
Overall, net assets fell to $391.6 billion at June 30 compared with $419.8 billion at Dec. 31, 2021.
The decrease was due to $33.6 billion in investment losses, offset in part by $5.4 billion in net deposits.