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At ATRF we focus on finding the right balance of risk and returns, and ensuring our investments are aligned with our strategic goals.
ATRF’s investment portfolio is structured to deliver the returns necessary to fund pension benefits over the long term. It is diversified by asset type, geography, and risk profile in order to control the impact of short-term volatility in investment markets to the extent possible.
As of 2021, responsibility for the direct management of ATRF investments was transferred to AIMCo as required by law. Today, ATRF plays the vital role of providing investment strategy that sets the direction for investing overall, and guides all the investment decisions made by AIMCo. ATRF also carefully monitors investment performance, paying particular attention to ensuring adherence to the strategy.
Long-Term Investment Performance
As a pension manager, ATRF focuses on the long-term investment results needed to fund our plans. We are very pleased to report that at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year, over the trailing 10-year period ATRF’s investment portfolio had earned an annualized rate of return of 6.91%, surpassing the long-term average return assumption of 6.53% used in valuing the plan.
ATRF measures investment performance in two ways: by comparing the fund’s overall return to the long-term expected return and by comparing results to board-approved benchmarks. The total fund benchmark return is calculated by aggregating the benchmark returns of each individual asset class and weighing them according to the fund’s policy asset mix allocation.
ATRF’s investment strategy is designed to provide the returns necessary to fund the plan’s long-term obligations. As such, we carefully monitor our portfolio’s results against the long-term expected return assumptions used for funding purposes.
ATRF’s returns compared to long-term return assumptions:
- 1 Year: 7.53% compared to 6.50% return assumption
- 4 Year: 4.19% compared to 6.37% return assumption
- 10 Year: 6.91% compared to 6.53% return assumption
| Asset Class | ATRF 1 Year (%) | Benchmark 1 Year (%) | ATRF 4 Years (%) | Benchmark 4 Years (%) | ATRF 10 Years (%) | Benchmark 10 Years (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | 13.52 | 18.17 | 7.85 | 10.42 | 10.23 | 11.51 |
| Growth: Global Equity | 19.68 | 20.08 | 9.34 | 10.05 | 9.77 | 10.84 |
| Growth: Private Equity | 5.45 | 20.29 | 6.98 | 13.47 | 13.65 | 13.61 |
| Growth: Private Credit | 8.45 | 5.46 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Inflation Sensitive (IS) | 3.30 | 7.32 | 1.74 | 7.70 | 7.26 | 6.72 |
| IS: Real Estate | -3.95 | 8.99 | -4.67 | 7.18 | 3.27 | 6.29 |
| IS: Infrastructure | 8.13 | 6.35 | 8.20 | 8.22 | 12.58 | 7.33 |
| IS: Timberland & Farmland | 2.33 | 6.35 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Interest Rate Sensitive | -2.37 | -2.39 | -2.43 | -2.57 | 1.11 | 0.98 |
| Market Neutral | 4.97 | 5.84 | 5.45 | 5.87 | 3.98 | 5.11 |
| TOTAL PLAN | 7.53 | 10.70 | 4.19 | 6.76 | 6.91 | 7.64 |
| Expected Rates of Return | 6.50 | 6.37 | 6.53 |
Investment performance net of fees, as at August 31, 2025
Investment Performance Analysis
Fiscal 2024-25
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, ATRF’s investment portfolio achieved a 7.53% return, ending with a total fund value of $26 billion as at August 31, 2025.
We are pleased to report that the one-year total return of 7.53% was above the plans’ expected rate of return of 6.50%, indicating that our diversified asset mix delivers the investment returns required to maintain the financial sustainability of the plans.
Similarly, over a decade-long review horizon that included the COVID pandemic and an inflation spike, the fund’s investment portfolio generated an annualized return of 6.91%, exceeding the plans’ expected rate of return of 6.53%. A medium-term review horizon of the last four years clearly shows the severity of recent market disruptions, where the fund’s total return of 4.19% lagged the expected rate of return by 2.18%.
Fluctuations in the fund’s performance relative to the expected rate of return are inevitable. Short-term underperformance may not alter the long-term expectation that the asset mix will achieve its return objectives. Given the current market environment and the funded position of the plans, ATRF continues to believe that the current strategic asset allocation is appropriate to achieve the long-term objectives of the plans. While we continue to monitor the performance of individual asset classes, our overarching goal is to maintain a portfolio that delivers sustainable returns and supports the long-term security of the pension plans.