Key Takeaways
- • The Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) reported a 7.5% total fund net investment return for 2025, trailing its benchmark by 2.7 percentage points.
- • Total client assets under management reached $194.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025, up from $179.6 billion at year-end 2024.
- • The Balanced Fund posted a 7.6% net return, reported as $13.1 billion, also 2.7 points below its benchmark.
- • AIMCo attributed the shortfall to a difficult year for private markets and to public market-linked benchmarks applied to private asset classes.
- • Public equities returned 19.4% in 2025, the strongest result in the portfolio, while real estate (-2.2%) and renewable resources (-0.5%) posted losses.
Summary
The Alberta Investment Management Corp. reported a total fund net investment return of 7.5% for 2025, according to Benefits Canada. The result fell 2.7 percentage points short of the fund's benchmark. Total client assets under management stood at $194.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025, compared with $179.6 billion at the end of 2024. The Balanced Fund returned 7.6% net for the year, reported as $13.1 billion, and also underperformed its benchmark by 2.7 points.
In a press release, AIMCo attributed the underperformance of both funds to a challenging year for private markets. It also pointed to the use of public market-linked benchmarks within private asset classes, which made the gap between reported private returns and benchmark returns more pronounced.
Performance across asset classes varied widely. Public equities led with a gain of 19.4%, followed by private debt and loans at 7.9%, mortgages at 5.8%, infrastructure at 3.3%, and private equity at 3%. Money market and fixed income returned 1%. Real estate posted a loss of 2.2%, and renewable resources declined 0.5%.
Justin Lord, AIMCo's chief investment officer, said public equities "maintained impressive performance in 2025, buoyed by investor confidence in artificial intelligence-related capital investments and increased earnings expectations." He added that fixed income returns "remained steady across all portfolios" and that, despite the difficult year for private markets, these asset classes "continue to offer important diversification for our clients over the long term."
In a press release, AIMCo attributed the underperformance of both funds to a challenging year for private markets. It also pointed to the use of public market-linked benchmarks within private asset classes, which made the gap between reported private returns and benchmark returns more pronounced.
Performance across asset classes varied widely. Public equities led with a gain of 19.4%, followed by private debt and loans at 7.9%, mortgages at 5.8%, infrastructure at 3.3%, and private equity at 3%. Money market and fixed income returned 1%. Real estate posted a loss of 2.2%, and renewable resources declined 0.5%.
Justin Lord, AIMCo's chief investment officer, said public equities "maintained impressive performance in 2025, buoyed by investor confidence in artificial intelligence-related capital investments and increased earnings expectations." He added that fixed income returns "remained steady across all portfolios" and that, despite the difficult year for private markets, these asset classes "continue to offer important diversification for our clients over the long term."
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