OMERS explained

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
Trade Name:OMERS
Type:Statutory corporation
Industry:Pension fund
Location:EY Tower
900-100 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 0E2
Area Served:Participating employers and employees in Ontario, Canada
Key People:Blake Hutcheson (CEO)
George Cooke (Board chair, Administration Corporation)
Michael Rolland (CEO, Sponsors Corporation)
Frank Ramagnano (Board chair, Sponsors Corporation)
Net Income:OMERS funded status on a smoothed basis was 97% in 2023
Assets:C$128.6 billion (2023)
Owner:The participating employers and employees of the OMERS pension plans
Num Employees:estimated 1000
Parent:OMERS Administration Corporation Board of Directors
Divisions:OMERS Infrastructure
OMERS Capital Markets
OMERS Private Equity
Oxford Properties

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System[1] (OMERS) is a Canadian public pension fund, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. OMERS is a defined benefit, jointly sponsored, multi-employer public pension plan created in 1962 by Ontario provincial statute to administer retirement benefits and manage pension investment funds of local government employees in the Canadian province of Ontario., OMERS had C$124 billion of assets under management.[2] OMERS serves over 1,000 participating employers and more than half a million active, deferred and retired employees. OMERS members are employed by municipalities, school boards, transit systems, local electrical distribution companies, police service boards, fire fighting and paramedic services, children's aid societies and associated local agencies, boards and commissions.[3]

In 2010, this fund assumed the pensions of firefighters, police officers, emergency physicians, employees of the Children's Aid Society, school employees other than teachers, public transport employees and Ontario Hydro employees.[4]

Organization

OMERS is governed by the Ontario Municipal Employee's Retirement Act, 2006, an Ontario law which superseded the older Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act.

Under the 2006 law, OMERS is composed of two statutory corporations.[5] In 2019, OMERS ventures launched a $315M European Venture fund, a fully owned subsidiary of OMERS Ventures led by Managing Partner Harry Briggs.[6]

OMERS is a partner of the World Economic Forum.[7]

Recent and current operations

In March 2017, OMERS acquired a stake in Kemble, the UK holding company of Thames Water.[8] The deeply-indebted water business became embroiled in a financial crisis from 2023, and in May 2024, OMERS, then Thames' biggest shareholder, issued a "full writedown" of its 31.7% stake in Kemble, signalling the shares were now worth nothing.[9]

In November 2023, OMERS announced the acquisition of a 5% indirect stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the parent company of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, for $400 million. The stake was purchased through a 20% direct investment in Kilmer Sports Inc (KSI), which is owned by MLSE Chairman Larry Tanenbaum. After the transaction, Tanenbaum will continue as chairman, holding an 80% stake in KSI, while OMERS will function purely as a financial investor without involvement in the operational decisions of MLSE or its teams.[10]

See also

External links

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About OMERS . OMERS . 2020-09-17.
  2. Web site: 2023-02-24 . OMERS reports 2022 results . 2021-02-24 . OMERS.
  3. Web site: About OMERS . OMERS . 2020-09-17.
  4. Web site: Page Not Found . 2022-08-05 . www.omers.com . en-CA.
  5. Web site: Omers Administration Corporation . cavalluzzo.com . 2020-11-13.
  6. Web site: Omers Ventures outs €300M European fund — Q&A with Managing Partner Harry Briggs. TechCrunch. 25 March 2019 . en-US. 2020-02-06.
  7. Web site: OMERS . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221106031851/https://www.weforum.org/organizations/omers . 2022-11-06 . 2022-11-06 . . en.
  8. News: Ambrose. Jillian. Macquarie sells off final stake in Thames Water. 15 March 2017. The Telegraph. 14 March 2017.
  9. News: Ambrose . Jillian . Thames Water’s biggest investor cuts value of its stake to zero . 21 May 2024 . Guardian . 17 May 2024.
  10. News: 2023-11-06 . Canada's OMERS buys 5% indirect stake in Toronto Raptors-parent MLSE for $400 mln . en . Reuters . 2023-11-07.