NBIMC recognizes 20 years of service, announces positive financial returns for 2015-16 | August 30 2016
August 30, 2016
FREDERICTON (GNB) – The New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation (NBIMC) has released its latest annual report, recognizing 20 years of service over which it has produced about $10.6 billion in cumulative investment earnings. The corporation also announced its investment return for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016, was 1.50 percent for total assets under management.
NBIMC serves as trustee and investment manager for the Provincial Court Judges’ pension fund, and investment manager for the Public Service Shared Risk and New Brunswick Teachers’ pension plans as well as four other public sector clients.
“The success of our active management program, in combination with our low investment management expenses, continues to provide exceptional value to our clients,” said NBIMC president and chief executive officer John A. Sinclair.
“We are pleased with our overall performance during a challenging year for global financial markets,” added Sinclair. “Our active investment management program created returns that exceeded the portfolio benchmarks established by our clients, contributing 1.08 percent or 107.5 basis points of value after deducting all investment costs, resulting in about $140.9 million of additional return.”
The corporation reported that net assets under management as of March 31, 2016, reached an all-time high of $13.3 billion, up from $13.0 billion the previous year. Although withdrawals for pension, expenses and other payouts of $332.5 million exceeded net investment gains of $192.1 million, the addition of the assets of two new clients totaling $431.2 million account for the net increase in assets.
NBIMC achieved an overall gross rate of return of 1.66 percent for the pension funds under management, or a 0.41 percent return on a real return (adjusted for inflation) basis. The long-term annualized pension fund real return since the corporation was formed in 1996 continues to exceed client funding requirements at 5.24 percent.
Annual investment returns for the Provincial Court Judges’ plans were 1.98 percent.
“Most importantly, their annualized real return (after adjusting for inflation) was 0.73 percent, and since our inception it is now 5.34 percent per year, thereby continuing to exceed the long-term real return objective of 4.00 percent that has been set out by the plan’s independent actuary,” said Sinclair.
Sinclair said NBIMC’s investment and portfolio advisory activities, and the provision of 30 separate, pooled fund investment strategies, result in diversification and hedging opportunities that are critical for prudently managing long-term investment programs.
The New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation was formed to operate at arms-length to the provincial government as a Crown corporation. Its team of more than 50 New Brunswick-based investment professionals provides innovative, cost-effective investment management solutions that have met the requirements of more than 51,000 pension plan members since 1996.
Further information about the NBIMC and the 2015-16 Annual Report is available online.
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MEDIA CONTACT: John A. Sinclair, president and chief executive officer, New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation, 506-444-5800.