The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) expanded its ILS allocation by 43% in dollar terms to C$1.4bn ($1bn) as of 31 December 2023, from C$973mn ($719mn) a year earlier, the scheme’s annual report showed.
This brought the ILS allocation to 1.2% of total fund assets of $85bn as of year-end, up from 0.9% of total fund assets in 2022 and 0.6% in 2021.
The pension fund does not disclose which ILS managers it allocates to.
It has been building the allocation since hiring Bernard Van der Stichele in February 2020. He had previously founded Whitebox Analytics and served as a portfolio manager at AlphaCat.
HOOPP’s annual report noted investments in “funds and securities linked to insurance contracts”.
The ILS allocation sits within the scheme’s alternatives pot, which comprises hedge funds, and insurance funds and reinsurance funds.
In 2023, HOOPP produced a total return across its whole fund of 9.38%, below its benchmark of 10.36%.
It opened a new office in London in H1 2024. The report noted that this “careful expansion” would “support diversification”, and that it would “enhance access to high-quality investment opportunities in Europe, particularly in private markets”.
Jeff Wendling, president and CEO at HOOPP, said: “In 2023, there was considerable economic uncertainty resulting from factors such as persistent inflationary pressures and unsteady global growth. That, combined with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and other regions, as well as rising geopolitical tension, made it a volatile year for investors.”