New investment risk system

In 2010, OPTrust completed the first phase of a new enterprise-wide investment risk system. The system improves our ability to conduct sophisticated, forward-looking analyses of risks affecting the Plan at the portfolio and total fund levels.

Currency risk

Over the long term, changes in foreign currency rates in relation to the Canadian dollar are expected to have a neutral effect on investment returns. In the short term, however, changes in the value of the Canadian dollar versus other currencies can have a material impact on the Fund’s returns in any given year.

OPTrust therefore employs a “passive” currency hedging strategy to reduce the annual volatility of returns for our foreign investments. Under this strategy, we hedge 50% of the Plan’s exposure to developed market currencies at a total fund level.

In 2010, currency hedging helped limit the effects of the depreciation of the U.S. dollar and changing developed market exchange rates on the Fund’s Canadian dollar returns. Over the year, the program resulted in a net gain of $61.2 million for the Fund.

"It’s a demanding job, but I enjoy making our communities safer by helping people turn their lives around. A lot of my colleagues don’t think about retirement. But it’s important to plan for the future regardless of your age..."
Dionne McClean
OPTrust Member
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
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As a Probation and Parole Officer, Dionne McClean has spent more than a decade supervising offenders who are serving sentences in the community.
"It’s a demanding job, but I enjoy making our communities safer by helping people turn their lives around. A lot of my colleagues don’t think about retirement. But it’s important to plan for the future regardless of your age. That’s why I booked an OPTrust “lunch and learn” session at our office so we could all learn more about our pension plan. I’m fortunate to have a job that I love and know my pension will be there when I retire."
Dionne McClean, OPTrust Member,
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
+ More Personal Perspectives
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As a Probation and Parole Officer, Dionne McClean has spent more than a decade supervising offenders who are serving sentences in the community.
"It’s a demanding job, but I enjoy making our communities safer by helping people turn their lives around. A lot of my colleagues don’t think about retirement. But it’s important to plan for the future regardless of your age. That’s why I booked an OPTrust “lunch and learn” session at our office so we could all learn more about our pension plan. I’m fortunate to have a job that I love and know my pension will be there when I retire."
Dionne McClean, OPTrust Member,
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services