CPP Investments is Canada's largest pension investor at C$793 billion (March 2026), followed by Ontario Teachers' at C$279 billion and OMERS at C$145 billion (both December 2025). All three exemplify the Canadian model of in-house active management and heavy private-market investing, and all rank among the 'Maple Eight'.
Canada punches far above its weight in global institutional investing. A handful of Canadian pension organizations rank among the most admired asset owners in the world, and three of them — CPP Investments, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and OMERS — sit at the top of the pile. They share a common DNA, the so-called Canadian model, but they differ in scale, mandate and risk appetite in ways worth understanding.
A note on dates before the numbers: these funds report on different fiscal calendars. CPP Investments and Ontario Teachers' close their books on 31 March and 31 December respectively, while OMERS uses 31 December. CPP's latest figures are therefore for the year ended 31 March 2026, while OTPP and OMERS report to 31 December 2025 — about nine months earlier. The comparison below uses each fund's most recent reported year.
How do the three funds compare at a glance?
| Metric | CPP Investments | Ontario Teachers' (OTPP) | OMERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net assets | C$793.3B (Mar 31, 2026) | C$279.4B (Dec 31, 2025) | C$145.2B (Dec 31, 2025) |
| Fiscal year end | March 31 | December 31 | December 31 |
| Latest 1-year net return | 7.8% (F2026) | 6.7% (2025) | 6.0% (2025) |
| 10-year net annualized return | 8.8% | 6.8% | 7.1% |
| Members served | 22M+ CPP contributors (national) | ~343,000 teachers (Ontario) | ~665,000 members (Ontario municipal) |
| Funded status | Plan certified sustainable (no ratio published) | Fully funded, 111% ratio, C$31.2B surplus | 99% smoothed funded ratio |
| CEO (2026) | John Graham | Jo Taylor | Blake Hutcheson |
CPP Investments: the national giant
CPP Investments (formerly CPPIB) is the largest of the three by a wide margin, with C$793.3 billion in net assets at 31 March 2026, up from C$714.4 billion a year earlier. It exists to invest the assets of the Canada Pension Plan on behalf of more than 22 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries — a genuinely national mandate.
Its distinguishing feature is purity of purpose. CPP Investments is only an investment manager: it does not administer benefits or set contribution rates, and it carries a statutory mandate to maximize returns without undue risk of loss. Because it serves a national base of 22 million people rather than a single employer, it has the broadest, most globally diversified portfolio of the three and the least exposure to any single-employer concentration.
CPP Investments returned 7.8% in fiscal 2026 and 8.8% annualized over ten years — the strongest long-run record of the group, though measured to a date nine months later than its peers. It does not publish a plan-level funding ratio; instead, the Canada Pension Plan as a whole is certified financially sustainable over a 75-year horizon by Canada's Chief Actuary. John Graham has been President and CEO since 2021.
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan: the funding standout
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) held C$279.4 billion in net assets at 31 December 2025, up from C$266.3 billion a year earlier. It serves roughly 343,000 working and retired Ontario teachers — a single-profession, single-province plan.
OTPP is widely credited as the pioneer of the Canadian model and is the funding standout of the three. It is fully funded for the 13th consecutive year, with a funding ratio of 111% and a preliminary surplus of C$31.2 billion. Unlike CPP Investments, OTPP both invests the assets and administers the plan, which is why it reports a funding ratio at all.
The fund returned 6.7% in 2025, down from 9.4% in 2024, with a 10-year annualized return of 6.8%. Gains in gold, venture growth and public equities drove 2025, while private equity and real estate dragged as year-end valuations were marked down. Jo Taylor is President and CEO.
OMERS: the smallest of the three
OMERS (the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) held C$145.2 billion in net assets at 31 December 2025, up from C$138.2 billion. It serves about 665,000 active, deferred and retired members across more than 1,000 participating employers in Ontario's municipal sector.
OMERS is the smallest of the three and runs a heavy tilt toward infrastructure and private equity. It returned 6.0% in 2025, adding C$8.2 billion, with a 10-year annualized return of 7.1% — edging out OTPP over the decade. Its smoothed funded ratio improved to 99%, approaching but not yet reaching full funding. In 2025 OMERS signalled an increased domestic and North American focus, in step with Ottawa's push for Canadian pension capital to invest more at home. Blake Hutcheson is President and CEO.
What do they have in common?
All three are exemplars of the Canadian model of pension investing, defined by a few shared traits:
- Independent, arm's-length governance that insulates investment decisions from political interference.
- Large in-house investment teams that manage most assets directly, cutting the fees paid to external managers.
- Heavy direct and private-market investing — especially infrastructure, real estate and private equity — held for the long term.
- A global footprint, with offices in major financial centers from London to Hong Kong to Singapore.
This combination has produced strong, cost-efficient long-term returns and has been studied and copied by pension and sovereign funds around the world.
What are the Maple Eight?
The three funds above are part of a broader group. The Maple Eight are Canada's eight largest public pension investment managers, which together manage over C$2 trillion. They are:
- CPP Investments (CPPIB)
- CDPQ — Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP)
- AIMCo — Alberta Investment Management Corporation
- BCI — British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
- PSP Investments — Public Sector Pension Investment Board
- OMERS
- HOOPP — Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
Collectively, the Maple Eight are the global standard-bearers of the Canadian model — and a reason a mid-sized economy exerts outsized influence over global infrastructure, real estate and private-equity markets.
Which Canadian pension giant is "best"?
There is no single answer, because the three are built for different jobs. CPP Investments is the largest and most globally diversified, with the strongest 10-year return, but it serves a national plan and reports no funding ratio. Ontario Teachers' is the funding standout, fully funded with a large surplus. OMERS is the smallest but has narrowly led on the trailing 10-year return and leans hardest into infrastructure. For an institutional observer, the more useful takeaway is that all three — and the wider Maple Eight — demonstrate how governance and in-house capability, more than size alone, drive durable long-term performance.
This page is part of the UAO Pension Funds hub. Figures are drawn from each fund's latest results and reputable reporting; returns are historical and not a guide to future performance. Note the differing fiscal year-ends when comparing figures.