Canada’s national pension fund earned a 1.9 per cent net return in its fiscal third quarter and ended the period with net assets of $536 billion, an increase of $7 billion from the previous quarter.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said the increase in net assets for the three months ended Dec. 31 consisted of $10 billion in net income less $3 billion in net outflows.

“Our diversified portfolio delivered gains this quarter due to a rebound in public equity markets, while our private asset values remained relatively flat,” chief executive John Graham said in a Feb. 9 release.

So far in its fiscal year, the fund has seen net assets decline by $3 billion, including a $12 billion decline in value plus $9 billion in net CPP contributions. For that period, its net return was negative 2.2 per cent.

Graham said they expect market pressures to persist this year.

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During the third quarter, CPP invested US$40 million in home improvement loans originated by GoodLeap LLC through a one-time whole-loan purchase with capital managed by Blackstone’s Asset Based Finance Group.

It also committed US$100 million to General Atlantic Investment Partners, another US$100 million to the Baring Private Equity Asia EQT Mid-Market Growth Fund and US$180 million for a 10 per cent stake in Hong Kong-based Tricor Group, among other investments in the quarter.

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