CDPQ manages insurance and pension plan investments for over six million Quebecers, focusing on generating long-term returns while embracing ESG principles across all asset classes. At the end of 2023, total net assets under management were €293bn, with real assets amounting to €71.6m.

The real assets class consists of two actively managed portfolios: real estate, investing in buildings and real estate companies around the world, and infrastructure, which includes direct investments in companies operating infrastructure in both developed and emerging markets.

Given the fierce competition for these assets, CDPQ’s comparative advantages are the leading-edge expertise of its teams and operational specialists, a vast network of partners and a capacity to develop projects and conclude private direct investments. Real assets returned 2.2% in 2023, exceeding the -4.3% return for the benchmark. The five-year annualised return was 4.1%, compared with 3.3% for the benchmark.

CDPQ’s infrastructure portfolio consists of nearly 40 high-quality businesses in 15 countries, contributing to the fight against climate change and helping reduce the carbon intensity of the total portfolio, which is down 53% since 2017. Through its subsidiary CDPQ Infra, the fund acts as developer by providing integrated management of the planning, financing, construction and operating phases of schemes, with Montreal’s REM rapid transit system, launched last year, as its first project.

The infrastructure portfolio posted a return of 9.6% for 2023, strongly outpacing the 0.3% benchmark return. Performance drivers included assets in essential sectors such as transportation and renewable energy.

Notable infrastructure investments in 2023 were:

• CAD848m for an additional 15% of Transportadora Associada de Gás, which owns and manages a significant portion of Brazil’s natural gas transportation assets. The investment means CDPQ now owns 50% of the company.
• CAD178m jointly with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, an Australian government-owned green bank, to launch a strategic partnership focusing on agricultural land in Australia. Its first acquisition is a farm in New South Wales that grows row crops.