Bill 22 Timeline - Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund (ATRF)

(October 2021) Once the IMA was in place, ATRF was able to proceed transferring the remaining assets to AIMCo. On October 5, 2021, ATRF announced that this process has now concluded and all assets are now under AIMCo’s management as per the legislation and legislated deadlines.
(September 2021) ATRF and AIMCo Agree to an IMA: ATRF announced on September 8, 2021, that we reached an agreement with the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) on the terms of an Investment Management Agreement (IMA) that will protect the best interests of our plans over the long term.
(March 2021) Management of Real Estate and Private Equity Assets Moved to AIMCo: Work continues in accordance with the legislated requirement to transfer management of ATRF assets to AIMCo, with the completion of two more asset class transfers, Real Estate and Private Equity. ATRF will continue to own all of these assets, and their management is governed by specific mandates developed by ATRF, but they will be managed by AIMCo. Real Estate includes commercial income-producing property (primarily office, industrial, and multi-family residential). Private Equity assets are investments in privately held companies spanning a wide range of industries around the globe
(Feb. 2021) Management of the First Group of ATRF Assets Moved to AIMCo: Infrastructure: In accordance with the timelines set out by legislation, the management of Infrastructure assets moved to the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). ATRF will continue to own all of these assets, but they will be managed by AIMCo. Alberta teachers have a diverse set of assets in their pension plans’ investment portfolio. Infrastructure assets are investments in the basic physical systems of an industry or a country, such as roads, bridges, ports, pipelines or power grids. Over the past 10 years, our Infrastructure assets earned an impressive 12.5% return and currently make up 8% of the plans’ policy asset mix.
(Jan. 2021) Ministerial Order: The deadline for reaching agreement on an Investment Management Agreement (IMA) having passed, the Government of Alberta had the ability to issue a Ministerial Order outlining the terms and conditions of the investment management relationship between ATRF and AIMCo. On January 4, 2021, ATRF was informed that the order had been issued outlining terms that will remain in place unless ATRF and AIMCo are able to agree on an IMA at some future date.
(Dec. 2020) Investment Management Agreement Update: ATRF continued to negotiate in good faith with AIMCo through November and December in an effort to land on an investment management agreement. ATRF wrote to the AIMCo Board Chair to urge their continued participation in negotiations as we felt that we were close to an agreement. ATRF also wrote to the Minister of Finance indicating that we were very close to coming to terms with AIMCo on all key business matters apart from ATRF’s control over investment policy where we were still unable to come to agreement. In that letter ATRF sought the government’s assistance in resolving the remaining matter.
(Oct. 2020) Investment Management Agreement Update: Despite significant progress being made, the investment management agreement between ATRF and AIMCo was not finalized by the extended deadline of October 31, 2020. ATRF continued working collaboratively with AIMCo to resolve those areas where we had yet to reach agreement. ATRF and AIMCo each informed the Government of Alberta that the agreement was not in place prior to the revised deadline of October 31, 2020.
(June 2020) Timeline Change: After a few months of preparatory work, it became clear that due to the complexity involved in managing the transfer of $18 billion in assets, that it wasn’t possible to meet the legislated deadline of June 30, 2020, for the completion of an Investment Management Agreement. Jointly with AIMCo, ATRF approached the provincial government to get an extension on this deadline. We requested a new deadline of October 31, 2020, for both the IMA and the plan to transfer assets, which was originally expected by December 31, 2020. The Minister of Treasury Board and Finance agreed to these new dates.
(Jan./Feb. 2020) Working Groups Established: ATRF and AIMCo collaboratively established a Joint Steering Committee made up of the organizations’ CEOs and several executives who are providing oversight to the project working groups. Both ATRF and AIMCo have established independent Steering Committees and designated business leaders to deliver on each of the objectives of nearly 20 various workstreams. These teams are looking at each asset class and supporting operations to determine the optimal process for effecting the transfer as efficiently and economically as possible.
(Jan 2020) Response from the Auditor General: The Auditor General declined the ATRF request, saying “As Auditor General, my mandate does not include examining the merits of government policy or decision. Rather, my role is to examine the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of how government decisions are implemented, evaluated, and subsequently reported to Albertans.” The letter did say that as auditors of ATRF, AIMCo, and the department of Treasury Board and Finance, they will be reviewing the implementation of this change in the coming year.
(Dec. 17, 2019) Message sent from ATRF’s CEO and Board Chair to Members on Bill 22: Many members had questions about the changes so ATRF’s Board Chair and CEO sent a message to members addressing some of their concerns and giving them an overview of what the change will mean to them.
(Nov. 18, 2019) ATRF Request to Alberta’s Auditor General for a Review of Proposed Changes to Teachers’ Pension Plan: The ATRF filed a formal request under Sections 20 and 29 of the Auditor General Act for Alberta’s Auditor General to assess the proposed transfer of ATRF’s asset management to AIMCo. In a letter to the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), ATRF Board Chair, Sandra Johnston, outlined the Board’s fiduciary duty to the plans and their beneficiaries to ensure changes are in their best interests.
(Nov. 16, 2019) Follow-Up Letter After Meeting with Minister Toews: Sandra Johnston, the ATRF Board Chair, issued a second request to Alberta’s Minister of Finance for the Government of Alberta to have Alberta’s Auditor General perform a review to determine if AIMCo is better able to perform the pension management responsibilities currently performed by ATRF.
(Nov. 7, 2019) Next Steps – Letter to Minister Toews: The ATRF Board Chair, Sandra Johnston, sent a follow-up letter to the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, Travis Toews which provided information regarding net asset return comparisons between ATRF and AIMCo, and spoke to the benefits our members receive from ATRF as a pension manager. The letter also suggested a neutral, third-party be asked to review the data and consider both options to ensure ATRF members would get the optimal management of their pension plan.
(Nov. 1, 2019) The ATRF Advantage: ATRF has always been committed to transparency, so a fact sheet, called The ATRF Advantage, was distributed to members to help update them on the proposed change. It included information about the ATRF as a pension manager, ATRF’s costs and returns, and information about the fiduciary duties of the Board.
(Oct. 30, 2019) A Letter to Minister Toews: ATRF’s Board Chair, Sandra Johnston, sent a letter on behalf of the Board to the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, Travis Toews. The letter expressed concerns about the impacts this change could have on plan members, saying that no data had been provided showing this change would be in the best interests of ATRF pension plans or members.
(Oct. 26, 2019) 2019 Provincial Budget Update: The Government of Alberta released the 2019 Provincial Budget on Thursday, October 24, 2019, which indicated that Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board was “expected to transfer funds to Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) for management.”