"OPTrust is well positioned to deliver
pensions today and for generations to
come, despite market challenges and global
events experienced throughout 2022. Like
many other investors and pension plans,
we experienced a one-year negative return
in 2022. Nevertheless, the overall effect of
higher interest rates on the Plan's asset and
liability mix means the Plan remains fully
funded and the margin to protect against
negative experiences is improving. The Plan
is stronger than ever before."
Message from the President and Chief Executive Officer
"Together, we have a clear vision to deliver peace of mind in retirement for our members, to invest sustainably for the long-term health of the Plan, and to create an inclusive and fulfilling work experience for our people."
Peter Lindley
President and Chief Executive Officer
OPTrust remains fully funded for the 14th consecutive year
Laid out our direction for the next five years with a strategic plan that will enhance the Plan's sustainability, invest in our people and strengthen our operational capabilities
Member service rating of 8.7/10
-2.2% one-year net investment return
5.00% nominal discount rate
Almost $25 billion in net assets
7.8%
10-year average net investment return
Implemented the first year of the three-year IDE strategy
Welcomed our employees back to the office in a flexible hybrid work model
The Plan is sustainable if it continues
to deliver a valuable benefit within an
acceptable range of contributions in the
short, medium and long terms. That means
members' contribution levels will remain
relatively steady through the years they are
making those contributions to the Plan, and
they will be paid their pensions when they
retire. As of December 31, 2022, the Plan has
been fully funded for 14 consecutive years,
yet ongoing challenges remain, including: the
investment environment, high inflation, plan
maturity and longevity risk.
Under the primary schedule, pensions that
are being paid and deferred pensions are
granted automatic annual cost-of-living
adjustments (COLA) based on inflation. Under OPTrust Select, on an annual
basis at the discretion of the Board, pensions
that are being paid may be granted COLA,
and active members may be granted accrued
benefit upgrades to adjust for inflation. The
inflation assumption used for Plan valuations
is based on long-term expectations. If the
actual rate granted to members for COLA
and benefit upgrades is higher than the
Plan's assumption, an experience liability
loss occurs, and vice versa. In 2022, we saw
inflation rates rise to their highest levels in
almost 40 years. As a result, we have adjusted
our COLA assumption for the 2022 valuation
to incorporate what we expect to be short-term
increases in inflation.
The investment environment continues
to be tumultuous with a challenging
macroeconomic and market environment. We
note that a sustained period of high inflation
with low economic growth will put pressure
on the Plan's funded status.
The demographics of the Plan are challenging
because the proportion of inactive
members relative to active contributing
members remains high. This situation means
funding risk is borne by a smaller group of
contributing members, which constrains the
amount of risk the Plan can bear.
There are several methods to help maintain
the funded status: our Member-Driven
Investing (MDI) strategy, the risk tolerance
specified in our Risk Appetite Statement and
our funding tools. As challenges continue
for longer periods of time, the tools at our
disposal are applied differently. This includes
the way we use risk within the MDI strategy.
Plan sustainability is directly influenced by
how we manage challenges and the amount
of risk we are willing to assume. For instance,
the discount rate includes a margin to protect
the Plan from future adverse events. The level
of margin in our discount rate at the end of
2022 has increased. The significant rise in
yields during 2022 has reduced the strain
on the discount rate used to value the Plan's
obligations.
In 2022, we conducted an experience
study to review the Plan's demographic
assumptions. This is another tool we employ
to help maintain our funded status by
ensuring our valuation assumptions remain
appropriate. Based on the results of the
study and expectations of future trends,
several of the demographic assumptions
have been updated including retirement
and termination rates. The main findings
of the study revealed that there is a higher
incidence of termination for younger
members and that members are generally
delaying their retirement.
In addition, we are always looking into
the future so we can attempt to foresee
any upcoming challenges that could
potentially affect our sustainability. We
perform projections under varying economic
environments, such as high inflation and low
economic growth, or market collapses and
rebounds, to help prepare for outcomes that
may affect the level of future contributions
and/or benefits.
The pension commitment spans many
decades. In keeping with that long-term
time horizon, short-term market events,
whether positive or negative, should not
lead to contribution and/or benefit changes.
Contributions and/or benefits should only
be changed when economic conditions or
member demographics and/or behaviours
change the long-term expected cost of the
benefit. In setting the funding policy, we
seek to maintain a balance between four
different goals: benefit security, contribution
rate stability, fairness between the two
schedules of benefits and intergenerational
equity. Intergenerational equity means that
every generation of members will pay a fair
amount for the benefits they receive — not
that every generation should pay the same
contributions for the same benefit. Of all
these goals, the security of accrued benefits
is the most important, which is why we strive
to keep our commitment to members that
they will receive their accrued benefits.
The funding valuation is used to determine
the adequacy of the contribution rate and
the funded position of the Plan and is filed
with regulators at least once every three
years, as per regulatory requirements. The
financial statements valuation is used for
disclosure for the purpose of this report.
Both actuarial valuations require many
different assumptions about future economic
conditions and events. "Best estimate”
assumptions are unbiased and are based on
Plan experience and the consideration of
potential future outcomes.
A funding valuation presents the Plan's
financial information in a manner approved
by OPTrust's Board of Trustees and in
accordance with standards and regulations.
It determines whether the Plan's assets,
together with expected investment income
and projected future contributions in
respect of current members, are sufficient
to fund members' expected benefits. This
valuation approach is known as the modified
aggregate method. It identifies any gains
and losses that have occurred since the last
funding valuation and confirms the overall
contribution requirements until the next
valuation. The funding valuation uses best
estimate assumptions with the exception of
the discount rate, which includes a margin
of conservatism, which helps the Plan meet
its funding goals.
OPTrust's financial statements rely on an
actuarial valuation prepared in accordance
with Canadian accounting standards for
pension plans. The financial statements
valuation is prepared using our best estimate
assumptions. The valuation recognizes the
increase in value of future obligations over
time, and pension-related receipts and
disbursements. Experience gains or losses (i.e.
when actual experience differs from what we
assumed) are recognized in the year incurred.
OPTrust engages independent actuaries to
perform regular valuations of the Plan to
ensure there are enough assets to meet the
projected cost of members' lifetime pensions.
OPTrust's 2022 valuation shows the Plan
remained fully funded as of December 31,
2022. The funding valuation also showed
deferred (or smoothed) investment gains of
$349 million, which will be recognized over
the next four years, further supporting the
Plan's funded status in the years to come. The
Plan's real discount rate for the 2022 funding
valuation was increased to 3.00 per cent, net
of inflation, up from 2.85 per cent in 2021. The
effect of this change decreased the total fund
liabilities by $709 million. The effect of the
change in the COLA assumption increased
the total fund liabilities by $615 million, and
the effect of changes to the demographic
assumptions based on the experience study
performed in 2022 decreased the total fund
liabilities by $194 million. Changes in the
Plan's actuarial assumptions can have a major
impact on the projected cost of members'
pensions and the Plan's funded status. The
table shows the impact of a 0.5 per cent
change in certain key assumptions on the
Plan's funded status.
Our members tell us they appreciate the
service they receive from OPTrust, giving us
a service rating of 8.7 out of 10 in 2022. They
contact us for information and guidance
about their pensions throughout their
membership and the considerations are
different depending on whether they are
new to the Plan, taking a leave of absence or
readying themselves for retirement. We help
members understand their options and the
implications of each choice, to deliver peace
of mind for retirement.
"It was important for me to buy back
two years of service while I worked on
contract with Service Ontario. I knew by
increasing my years of pension service,
I would increase my pension and could
retire sooner.”
Vashtie Ramnarain
Program Assistant, Centre East Health Care Team
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and
Skills Development
"Once I retired and the pension kicked
in, I felt the power of the benefit. I
would've been in a completely different
life situation if I didn't have this benefit.
Having a pension gives me healthy
confidence, security and independence
as a senior.”
Meiko Bae
OPTrust Retiree
Ontario Science Centre
"It means so much to me to be a member
of OPTrust Select. I was so happy when
I learned that my employer joined
the Plan, and that I would receive the
benefits of having a pension once I retire.
It's something that I've always dreamt of
having.”
Olajumoke (Ola) Adenigba
Manager, Program Services
North York Harvest Food Bank
"The retirement process was seamless
from start to finish – from my last pay
cheque to my first pension payment. The
communications that I receive from the
team at OPTrust continues to keep me
well informed about my pension.”
Gordon Johnson
OPTrust Retiree
Ministry of Transportation
Highlights
OPTrust remains fully funded for the 14th consecutive year
Member service rating of 8.7/10
Top 10 CEM Benchmarking Inc.
global ranking
10 new employers in
OPTrust Select, growing
membership to
over 3,200
Over 123,000
on-line transactions
and electronic
communications
Supported
members through
approximately
48,000 life events
Over 1,500
members attended
on-line pension
information sessions
Over $1.2 billion
total entitlements paid
Supported members
through over
45,500 telephone
counselling events
At OPTrust, we rely on the strength of our people — a team of smart, talented and diverse employees — who fuel our success with a passion for pensions. In London, Sydney and Toronto, every member of the team goes beyond to meet our members' expectations and deliver a secure, predictable pension in retirement.
We remain focused on ensuring OPTrust is a great place to work for our team.
Together we are united by a shared set of values that define the way we live, work
and hold each other accountable:
Collaboration and Teamwork
Integrity
Respect
Flexibility
Excellence and Continuous Improvement
The OPTrust team gives back to the community through
OPTrust Cares, a grassroots employee-led charitable giving
program that raises funds for nonprofits as well as supports
organizations that are meaningful to them and to our
communities.
In 2022, OPTrust Cares supported a local Indigenous organization focused on
improving the health and well-being of the Indigenous community in Toronto. The
team held several fundraising and educational events with broad participation to
learn more about the truth and reconciliation process and 94 Calls to Action, land
rights, traditional healing practices and the experiences of Indigenous Elders. During
another campaign, the team raised awareness about men's health and suicide
prevention supporting a foundation with projects around the world.
At OPTrust, our values are reflected in the way
we work together and in the way we serve
members. In order to realize our values, we
respect one another's diverse backgrounds
and points of view. Our values depend on
inclusion, diversity and equity, which
supports OPTrust's vision to create an
inclusive and fulfilling work experience.
Highlights
Partnership with the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business and provided insight into the economic footprint of Canada's Indigenous
business community and allowed us to pilot a new supplier diversity program and equip
OPTrust to create a reconciliation plan to improve our ability to support the
Indigenous community.
Participation in Employee Resource Groups include 29 members for the Black
Employees and Allies Network, 28 members for Women and Allies for Gender Equity and 16 members
for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Our inaugural community outreach in the 2022 Pride Toronto Street Fair with over
30 employees, including majority of the Executive Team, raised awareness about
OPTrust Select and promoted being an employer of choice with the LGBTQ2S+ community and allies.
Workshops with the Canadian Council on
Rehabilitation and Work and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind provided awareness and skills training for our Member
Experience Team to meet the changing needs of our members.
"As a young person seeking to better understand how investments
work, I am very privileged to work with experienced investment
professionals who are passionate about delivering pensions to our
more than 100,000 members.”
Tomiwa Oladapo
Senior Analyst, Office of the Chief Investment Officer
OPTrust
"I consider myself extremely lucky to be a member of a
defined benefit pension plan. My parents sacrificed a lot so
that I could have better opportunities and working for an
organization that provides a pension is definitely one of them.”
Sozanny Chea
Digital Media Advisor OPTrust
"I am part of a talented and diverse team that goes above and
beyond for each other every day. Our positive workplace culture is
one of the many reasons why I enjoy working at OPTrust.”
Chantelle Twomey
Human Resources Administrator OPTrust
"I am fortunate enough to work with OPTrust's top-notch
investment team on a day-to-day basis and know that my
pension is in good hands. I appreciate the value of having a
defined benefit pension and the security that comes with it.”
Kenny Cheng
Director of Investment Operations OPTrust
"I am proud to work at OPTrust because of the culture we have.
From the top-down, I would describe the people I work with as
inclusive, hardworking, professional and considerate.”
Laura Chow
Technology Specialist OPTrust
"I'm proud to be part of a team that provides peace of mind to our members. We answer thousands of phone calls and process thousands of transactions centred around members' life events."
Yaseen Karmali
Manager, Member Services
OPTrust
"I enjoy working towards our mission of paying pensions today
and preserving pensions for tomorrow. It shows we have a near
and long-term commitment to our members. It is a commitment
that helps our members live with dignity in retirement.”
Peter Preradovic
Senior Project Leader OPTrust
"I'm happy to be part of the actuarial team that provides
technical data advice and support to the organization. My team
helps to ensure that the Plan maintains its fully funded status.”
We adopt a Total Portfolio Approach (TPA), which emphasizes an integrated approach to investing in which management and the Board work toward shared objectives, namely preserving the fully funded status of the Plan over the long term.
Our Member-Driven Investing (MDI) strategy is our application of a TPA. MDI aims to earn the returns we require to keep the Plan fully funded while not exposing it to excessive risk. This is aligned with our members' interest — to improve pension certainty.
Improving pension certainty means striking the right balance between these two objectives:
Sustainability – generating sufficient
returns to keep the Plan fully funded,
and
Stability – keeping contributions
and benefits as stable as possible
throughout time.
The three key components of this balance are contributions and investment returns on one side, and benefits on the other. We need to take risks to ensure the sustainability of the Plan, but not so much that we jeopardize the stability of contributions and benefits.
MDI emphasizes managing the risk drivers of our liabilities to reduce the volatility of our funded status, earning diversified investment returns and adding value in asset classes where we have a competitive advantage.
We allocate risk where we have the best potential for value creation, and we then use public market strategies to obtain our desired total fund risk exposure.
We strive to construct our portfolio to
be resilient to different economic and
market environments to the extent
possible, while delivering attractive risk-adjusted
returns over the long term.
We continue to deliver on our plan sustainability objective and have retained our fully funded status for the 14th consecutive year.
In 2022, illiquid asset classes performed well and helped partially offset total portfolio losses from public market assets, reflecting the diversification we have in our portfolio. Our infrastructure, real estate and private equity portfolios delivered net returns of 21.1 per cent, 15.0 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.
We are a long-term investor and our longer-term results remain strong. Our net 10-year annualized return is 7.8 per cent, while the net annualized return since inception is 8.0%. This has exceeded what is required to fund the Plan and puts us in a good position to weather short-term volatility.
Our investment teams remained active this year and, despite the difficult environment, continued to find opportunities to make investments that we believe will serve our members well over the long term.
Our total fund delivered a net return of -2.2 per cent in 2022, driven mostly by declines in the value of fixed income and public equity securities. Positive returns for illiquid assets helped to offset negative returns for public market asset classes.
More details on our total fund, sub-portfolio and asset class performance can be found in the 2022 Funded Status Report.
We Are a Global Investor
We invest globally to pursue a broader
set of investment opportunities. Investing
globally can offer diversification and return enhancement
benefits to the total fund
and is an important part of our investment
program.
Our Internal Approach
In 2016, we embarked on an internalization initiative and are currently running our internally managed programs at over 65 per cent of the total fund. In addition to internally managed assets in our real estate, infrastructure and private equity portfolios, areas of internal investment management include our liability hedging, risk mitigation and funding portfolios, as well as our passive return-seeking strategies. We focus our internal resources on investment activities where we believe we have the skills and scale to be cost effective, otherwise investment activities are outsourced to external managers. Moving forward we will continue to seek out opportunities to internally manage investment strategies where appropriate.
Focus on Active Management
Active management is best deployed in areas where value creation potential is the greatest. We believe this is best achieved in the illiquid asset classes, such as real estate, infrastructure and private equity. Within public markets, we have focused our active management strategies on multi strategy investing, credit and emerging market public equities. The focus of our passive programs is on gaining the exposure we need to balance out our total fund risk profile as cost effectively as possible.
Cost Effectiveness and Value Added Performance
According to the latest results from a CEM Benchmarking Inc. analysis, OPTrust delivered strong risk-adjusted performance using a sophisticated
asset mix that was implemented cost effectively. Some highlights from CEM:
We are in the top decile of global peers based on the combination of both value added performance
relative to benchmarks and investment costs for the five-year period ending in 2021.
Our 2021 value added performance was in the top one percentile of global peers' single-year
outcomes in the last 20 years.
Our five-year value added performance was in the top quartile of Canadian peers
for the period ending in 2021.
Case Study
In July 2022, OPTrust invested in Sen'ákw (sen-AWK), a purpose-built, multi-family rental project
in Vancouver, British Columbia. The investment is a partnership with Westbank and the Squamish
Nation.
With 20 per cent of homes being designated as affordable rental, the Sen'ákw development
will generate significant affordable housing. Sen'ákw is the largest net-zero operational carbon
residential project in Canadian history and also encompasses the largest federal financing to date,
with a construction loan provided through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's
Rental Construction Financing Initiative. As the largest non-resource private partnership with a
First Nation, Sen'ákw will help further reconciliation in Canada and generate economic and social
benefits for the Squamish Nation.
Upon completion, phases one and two of the project, which OPTrust has invested in, will consist
of about 3,000 multi-family rental homes across seven buildings, alongside a district energy plant
and ancillary commercial space, all totaling over two million buildable square feet. Subsequent
phases of the project could encompass over 3,000 additional homes.
OPTrust is committed to continuing to grow its real estate portfolio sustainably and responsibly.
Sen'ákw represents a compelling investment and is expected to enhance the quality, functionality
and sustainability of OPTrust's real estate portfolio for the long term.
Rendering of the Sen'ákw project, located on the edge of the Kitsilano neighbourhood bounded by the
waterfront of False Creek and adjacent to the Burrard Street Bridge. Rendering and design architect: Revery
Architecture; Architect of Record: Kasian Architecture, Interior Design and Planning
Our Responsible Investing (RI) program
plays a key role in making more informed
investment and risk management decisions,
creating value and securing pensions for our
members for decades to come. Recognizing
that environmental, social and governance
(ESG) factors can materially impact
investment risk, return and our reputation,
every investment professional at OPTrust
is responsible for integrating ESG risks and
opportunities in their decision-making and
portfolio management.
Responsible Investing Highlights
Released our enhanced climate change strategy with an ambition to create a more
climate-resilient portfolio, aligned with reaching net zero by 2050.
Completed our Responsible Investing Partner Evaluation framework on 100% of new
externally managed investments; monitored and engaged with partners on their ESG practices.
Engaged 524 companies on key environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Revised our Proxy Voting Guidelines to keep up with evolving best practices in corporate
governance, climate strategy and labour standards.
Continued to be an active voice in investor collaborative initiatives, including UNPRI's
Asset Owner Technical Advisory Committee, the Thinking Ahead Institute's climate change working
group, and the Ceres and UNPRI private equity working groups.
Voted at 1,721 company meetings in 49 countries.
Piloted COMPAS (Capturing OPTrust's Management and Progress Around
Sustainability), our internally developed ESG data program, to establish a baseline and better
track and understand our RI performance across the total fund.
As stewards of our members' capital, our
role is to look far ahead at challenges and
opportunities that could affect members'
retirement security across multiple
generations. Chief among these is climate
change. A defining issue of our time, it
presents a real, measurable risk to our
members that cannot be ignored in our
investment approach.
In 2022, we released our enhanced climate
change strategy, outlining our plan to
manage the risks and opportunities from a
transitioning economy. Our ambition is to
successfully navigate the global transition
towards net zero through:
Five climate change beliefs underpin our
strategy and they guide our decision-making
and the strategy's implementation and
evolution:
We recognize addressing plan
sustainability requires addressing
climate sustainability.
We must anticipate change and evolve.
We will find opportunities across
transition pathways.
We are active owners and will engage
with companies and in investor
collaborations.
We will be transparent to preserve the
trust of our members and stakeholders.
The strategy is built on four pillars designed
to integrate climate considerations
across OPTrust's investment portfolio
and operations: investment strategy and
selection, asset management, portfolio
analytics, and advocacy and disclosure.
Further details on our enhanced
climate change strategy and associated
commitments can be found here.
Within the investment strategy and selection pillar, a key commitment in driving progress towards resiliency is stress-testing our portfolio construction using climate scenarios. Building on our 2018
partnership with Ortec Finance that integrated various global warming scenarios into the Plan's asset-liability
modelling, we published an updated report in 2022 reflecting advancements in this area of
climate scenario analysis. Having tracked the evolution in this space over several years, we are pleased
to share our learnings as a resource for the industry as we all navigate the complexities of climate
integration. While there remain challenges in translating the findings into actionable next steps, the
exercise has proved helpful in positioning the risks of climate change to our funded status and setting
the foundation for our enhanced climate change strategy.
As an asset owner with a long-term investment horizon, we view active ownership as a key lever for value creation and risk management that is
essential to sustainable investment success. Exercising our governance rights through activities such as proxy voting and corporate engagement
enables us to shape our investee companies' ESG strategy and hold them accountable for managing material issues effectively.
2022 Proxy Voting Highlights
OPTrust voted at 1,721 meetings in 49 countries.
Note: meetings voted by geography
Voted with management on 87 per cent of proposals and voted against management on 13 per cent of proposals
Voted in support of 28 proposals to improve climate risk management at portfolio companies
As part of our commitment to improve diversity in our portfolio companies, we voted against 362 director nomination proposals due to inadequate board gender balance.
Corporate Engagement
A core component of our commitment
to active stewardship is our corporate
engagement program, which supports our
ability to manage emerging ESG issues and
enhance long-term value. We believe that
such engagement is generally preferable
to divestment as it enables us to maintain
a seat at the table, using the investor voice
to effect positive change. In partnership
with our engagement provider and other
investor associations, including the Canadian
Coalition for Good Governance, Climate
Action 100+ and the 30% Club, we take
part in dialogue with investee companies
to advocate for improved practices and
robust risk management around material
sustainability issues. In our direct private
markets investments, we leverage our more
substantial ownership positions to play
an even more active role in advancing our
assets' ESG practices.
2022 Engagement Milestones
Climate change: While Waste
Connections has historically focused
on emissions offsets as part of its
climate action plan, engagement with
the company advocating for actual
emissions reductions yielded a new
target of reducing absolute Scope 1 and
Scope 2 emissions by 15%.
Labour standards: Tesco committed
to paying the living wage gap to
their banana producers and sourcing
bananas only from producers who pay
a living wage to all workers beginning
in 2024.
Environmental stewardship: BHP
launched a 2030 objective to create
nature positive outcomes by having
at least 30% of its land footprint under
nature positive management practices
by 2030, supported by a comprehensive
implementation strategy and an
ambition to develop natural capital
accounts.
Corporate governance: Following
several years of dialogue with SCSK
Corporation, the company appointed
additional independent directors,
raising the number of outside directors
to six out of 12.
Public health: Unilever set a new
benchmark for the consumer goods
industry in disclosing the healthiness
of its sales against six government-endorsed
nutrient profiling models and
their own internal model.
ESG governance: We supported the
development of ESG policies and ESG
frameworks for board reporting at
several of our private markets assets.
COMPAS
Data quality is a well-known challenge in
RI. ESG metrics are generally subjective,
challenging to quantify, inconsistently
measured and reported, and difficult
to audit. The lack of widespread, high-quality
information, both quantitative
and qualitative, can lead to difficulty in
rigorously evaluating ESG factors and
effectively managing them in our portfolios.
In the absence of standardized regulatory
disclosures or an off-the-shelf ESG data
framework applicable to our diverse asset
classes and strategies, OPTrust's Responsible
Investing Leaders Group (RLG) is creating one
for the Investment Division.
Building on the successful integration of our
Responsible Investing Partner Evaluation
(RIPE) in 2021, the COMPAS (Capturing
OPTrust's Management and Progress Around
Sustainability) initiative is designed to further
enhance the Investment Division's ability
to track and assess our RI activities over
time. COMPAS will enable us to consistently
capture longitudinal, quantitative ESG data
on our investments, supplemented with
qualitative insights from investment teams.
The program's reporting on our ESG
integration and impact will serve to:
Identify strengths and weaknesses in
our RI processes within and across our
portfolios with better monitoring of key
ESG indicators, and corresponding risks
and opportunities across the fund.
Strengthen our investment decision-making
through informed analysis of
material ESG factors.
Support the fulfillment of our
responsibilities around the disclosure of
RI developments and performance to
our diverse stakeholders.
In 2022, the RLG piloted the collection of
key ESG indicators across the fund, focusing
initially on metrics pertaining to our ESG
integration practices and application of
our Statement of Responsible Investing
Principles. These indicators are shown in the
chart below.
In time, we intend for the initiative to
evolve to encompass systematic monitoring
of our sustainability outcomes and ESG
performance (such as diversity, allocations
to low-carbon investments and energy
consumption) to provide a holistic, data-driven
view of our RI program.
ESG data collection and disclosure remains an
area of development within the investment
industry and we are committed to working
collaboratively with our investment partners
to achieve greater transparency year over
year. In 2022, OPTrust joined the ESG Data
Convergence Initiative as a limited partner
member to support the adoption of a
standard for meaningful, performance-based
ESG data disclosure in private equity and
facilitate ESG data analysis in our private
equity portfolios. We will stay engaged
with these developments as ESG data and
disclosure standards continue to evolve and
gain traction across asset classes, with an eye
to improving ESG data coverage, depth and
quality within our organization and across
our portfolios.
Investment Division's Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Toolkit
In 2021, OPTrust's Investment Division rolled out the Responsible Investing Partner Evaluation (RIPE) framework, enabling teams to
more systematically identify and assess RI strengths and gaps when investing with external managers and funds. Reflecting a broadly
recognized area of development in the wider investment industry, our investment partners' diversity across asset classes has been
frequently flagged as having room for improvement. As a result, OPTrust developed an inclusion, diversity and equity (IDE) toolkit to assist
our investment teams in advancing IDE in their portfolios and facilitate engagement and advocacy around a complex and often sensitive
topic.
The toolkit contains a primer on understanding IDE in investment management, as well as four tools for investment teams to use in
assessing, monitoring and managing IDE considerations in their portfolios:
Portfolio snapshot tool to help teams map their partners based on their IDE development and prioritize engagement.
Discussion guide to assist teams in conducting due diligence on an investment partner's IDE practices.
Compilation of best practices to support our partners in overcoming common IDE challenges.
Incident management framework to guide the effective management of any IDE-related incidents or controversies.
"The creation of this toolkit underscores OPTrust's key corporate priority of advancing IDE
across the organization and it aligns with our internal focus on building a more diverse and
inclusive culture within OPTrust. The toolkit will help empower our investment professionals
to collaboratively drive positive change within the industry and contribute to long-term
value creation through diversity of thought, forward-thinking human capital practices and
comprehensive risk management."
Lindsay Saldanha
Principal, Sustainable Investing and Innovation (Toolkit Development Lead)
