Change is in the air for Canada’s top real estate pension investors. Among the largest institutional investors in the world, Canada’s biggest retirement systems – known collectively as the Maple 8 – have reached an inflection point.
Since 2022, five of the groups have seen their real estate heads leave. A sixth is set to depart this summer. Two of those leadership changes came as part of broader restructuring efforts that involve the pension investors bringing their independent property arms in house, abandoning the direct investment style that characterized the so-called Canadian model.
Bill Ferguson, head of Chicagobased executive search firm Ferguson Partners, sees the changes as a strategic shift by the pensions toward a less hands-on approach to their real estate investments. “The investment strategy of the Maple 8 has changed based upon the recognition of capital as their competitive advantage, leading to a focus on platform and portfolio investing rather than being owneroperators,” Ferguson says.
Download a PDF of PERE's July/August 2024 Cover Story - The Maple 8 are in flux.
For additional information, contact William J. Ferguson.