Alberta and Ontario pension funds post strong mid-year gains
Public equities were the primary driver of first-half gains, with the corporation noting that “public equities was the strongest contributor to performance, benefiting from resilient corporate earnings and continued strength in AI-related sectors and global equity markets.”
That finding aligns closely with broader Canadian pension data: according to Northern Trust Canada, Canadian pension plans posted a median gain of 6.6% in Q2 2026, lifted by global equities with US equities returning 17.1% in Canadian dollar terms and emerging markets surging 26.2% over the same period.
AIMCo’s asset mix at mid-year was split roughly evenly across three broad categories: money market and fixed income accounted for 37% of the Total Fund, public equities and absolute return strategies made up 32%, and private markets represented the remaining 31%. The Balanced Fund carried a nearly identical allocation.
Ontario plans hit record solvency levels
Across provincial lines, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) released its Q2 2026 solvency report this week showing that Ontario-registered defined benefit pension plans reached a median solvency ratio of 127% as of June 30, 2026.
It’s a five-percentage-point improvement from the 122% recorded in the first quarter, while the proportion of plans projected to be fully funded on a solvency basis rose to 93%, up from 90% at March 31, 2026.
