AIMCo assets top $200 billion as public equities drive gains

The downtown Calgary skyline seen looking up Centre Street on June 16, 2026. Photo by Brent Calver/Postmedia files

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Alberta Investment Management Corp. surpassed $200 billion in assets under management with a 7.1 per cent net investment return in the first half of the year marked by conflict in the Middle East, U.S. trade policy uncertainty and evolving inflation expectations.

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The provincial Crown corporation that invests on behalf of pensions, endowments and government funds had $210.7 billion in assets under management as of June 30.

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Chief investment officer Justin Lord said the trade situation and other geopolitical and macroeconomic developments are front and centre for the globally invested fund, which has a strong presence in North America. About 40 per cent of AIMCo’s assets are invested in Canada.

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“A prolonged dispute, whether it’s in the Middle East (or) whether it’s trade-related, certainly could create headwinds for the Canadian economy, for the equity market,” he said. “And that’s something we’re monitoring closely.”

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Public equities were the strongest contributor to AIMCo’s performance in the first half of the year, benefiting from resilient corporate earnings and continued strength in AI-related sectors and global equity markets. The results were moderated, however, by private equity, where there was lower transaction activity and valuation pressure in software-related investments.

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“Private equity, perhaps even more so today, is playing a vital role in diversification across our equity exposures,” Lord said.

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“A number of of equity markets, be it global or emerging markets, are really reliant on a couple of very similar underlying themes with respect to where we’re seeing earnings growth and price appreciation contributing to that strong performance,” he added.

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AIMCo’s private equity program is focused on fund and co-investment, and Lord said the team is seeing a number of opportunities that align with the fund’s strategy, as well as an increase in secondary deal flow.

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Public equities and absolute return strategies make up the bulk of AIMCo’s portfolio, at 38 per cent. The balance is split between private markets and money market and fixed income.

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Lord said he plans to connect next month with “peers” and “partners” attending the Canada Investment Summit on Sept. 14 and 15, a conference convened by Prime Minister Carney that has a guest list of large global investment funds.

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“We do have a significant amount of our assets invested here across a number of different asset classes and, should compelling opportunities arise, we’d be happy to … underwrite those transactions, much like we would in any other jurisdiction,” he said.

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Lord said there are no hard targets or caps on AIMCo’s investments in Canada.

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“We have a strong interest in seeing, obviously, a competitive and attractive investment environment here in our own backyard,” he said, “but we do invest globally on behalf of our clients and … ultimately, our responsibility is to deliver that long-term return for clients, and that means investing where we see the best opportunity to create value over time.”