Key Takeaways
- • British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (bcIMC) named Gordon Fyfe, 56, its next CEO and CIO, effective July 7, 2014, succeeding Doug Pearce, who led the fund for more than 20 years.
- • Fyfe leaves the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), where he was CEO for 11 years and which manages C$90 billion in federal public service pension assets.
- • bcIMC manages $114 billion (C$) and is Canada's fourth-largest pension fund manager, and reported a 14.7% return last year after raising its weighting in non-Canadian stocks.
- • bcIMC chair Rick Mahler said the board wanted a leader with global investment deal experience, and that the fund plans offices in London and Singapore to expand its global portfolio.
- • Fyfe is expected to keep bcIMC's responsible investing mandate, though he has a lower public profile on governance policy than his predecessor.
Summary
British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has named Gordon Fyfe, currently CEO of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) in Ottawa, as its next chief executive officer and chief investment officer, according to the Globe and Mail and the Wall Street Journal. Fyfe, 56, will take over on July 7 from Doug Pearce, who led bcIMC for more than 20 years and announced plans to retire last August.
bcIMC, which manages about $114 billion in Canadian dollars (approximately US$106 billion) for public-sector workers in British Columbia, as well as public trust and insurance assets, is Canada's fourth-largest pension manager. PSP Investments, by comparison, manages $90 billion for federal public service employees. bcIMC announced it earned a 14.7% rate of return last year after increasing its weighting in non-Canadian stocks, and it has announced plans to open offices in London and Singapore.
Board chair Rick Mahler said the search prioritized global investment experience. "We were looking for a Canadian, and not only did we get a Canadian, we got somebody from Victoria," Mahler said, noting Fyfe was raised in Victoria and wants to finish his career in British Columbia. Mahler credited Fyfe's network of partnerships abroad, built over stints at J.P. Morgan in New York and London and earlier work in France, with helping to source transactions.
bcIMC said Fyfe will continue the fund's mandate for socially responsible investing. Pearce was a high-profile advocate of governance reform and a former chair of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, while Fyfe has had a lower public profile on those issues. PSP said its board will enact a pre-established CEO succession plan, with further details to follow.
The move is part of a wider leadership turnover among Canada's largest pension funds this year, including Michael Latimer at OMERS and Ron Mock at Ontario Teachers'.
bcIMC, which manages about $114 billion in Canadian dollars (approximately US$106 billion) for public-sector workers in British Columbia, as well as public trust and insurance assets, is Canada's fourth-largest pension manager. PSP Investments, by comparison, manages $90 billion for federal public service employees. bcIMC announced it earned a 14.7% rate of return last year after increasing its weighting in non-Canadian stocks, and it has announced plans to open offices in London and Singapore.
Board chair Rick Mahler said the search prioritized global investment experience. "We were looking for a Canadian, and not only did we get a Canadian, we got somebody from Victoria," Mahler said, noting Fyfe was raised in Victoria and wants to finish his career in British Columbia. Mahler credited Fyfe's network of partnerships abroad, built over stints at J.P. Morgan in New York and London and earlier work in France, with helping to source transactions.
bcIMC said Fyfe will continue the fund's mandate for socially responsible investing. Pearce was a high-profile advocate of governance reform and a former chair of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, while Fyfe has had a lower public profile on those issues. PSP said its board will enact a pre-established CEO succession plan, with further details to follow.
The move is part of a wider leadership turnover among Canada's largest pension funds this year, including Michael Latimer at OMERS and Ron Mock at Ontario Teachers'.
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