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  • 50 Years
  • Year in Review
  • MD&A
  • Financials
  • Governance
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Overview - Introduction

In 2009, following the major sell-off in the financial markets which ended in March, investors saw one of the biggest rallies in history. The steady recovery of the financial markets led to strong returns in HOOPP's equity and fixed income portfolios, as well as positive growth in the private equities portfolio. HOOPP experienced double-digit gains of 15.18 per cent, more than offsetting a loss of 11.96 per cent in 2008. HOOPP surpassed its investment benchmark of 9.77 per cent by 541 basis points.

At year end, the Plan's assets rose to $31.1 billion, up from $26.7 billion in 2008.

HOOPP invests for the long term, not for year-over-year results. In the last decade, HOOPP's compound rate of return has been 5.79 per cent which has added value of $13.1 billion for members and pensioners. As of December 31, 2009, the Plan was 102 per cent funded, versus 97 per cent funded in 2008, allowing the Board to keep contribution and benefit levels the same for the membership.

During 2009, HOOPP took a number of steps to meet its ongoing commitment to deliver on the pension promise to the more than 250,000 members who depend on the Plan for pension benefits.

HOOPP continued the shift to liability driven investing (LDI), reducing funding volatility by maintaining a suitable balance between risk and return. This investment strategy protects and grows the Fund's assets in line with the Plan's liabilities.

HOOPP's conservative asset mix policy played a role in the Plan's results in 2009, as it put the Plan in a good position to weather the financial market weakness early in the year. Later in 2009, asset mix decisions to increase the weighting of equity and credit allowed the Plan to benefit from the recovery in financial markets.

Typically, HOOPP's asset mix strategy:

  • supports the move toward LDI
  • reduces the Fund's exposure to equity markets, while increasing exposure to long term bonds, real return bonds and real estate
  • better aligns assets with future cash flow requirements, and
  • provides the Plan with more effective protection against inflation

HOOPP continued a multi-year project to develop new investment technology. This includes a fully integrated data and performance management system that supports investment decision-making, helping HOOPP better mitigate investment-related risk.

This section of the report - Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) - provides a more detailed look at these key initiatives and the impact they have had on the Plan.