As the University of Toronto strives for excellence in teaching and research, we work to strengthen key financial pillars on which that vision is built – and to help provide a secure retirement for thousands of employees, past, present and future.
Our Approach
Since UTAM’s inception in 2000, we have provided professional investment management services to protect and grow the University of Toronto’s financial assets.
As we manage U of T’s Pension, Endowment and short-term working capital funds, we draw upon our proven processes and deep investment expertise. At the same time, we collaborate closely with U of T’s senior leadership, the expert advisors of the Investment Committee, our carefully selected investment managers and strategic partners, and other key stakeholders, benefiting from their insights and experience as we manage the university’s assets to achieve its risk and return objectives.
Responsible Investing
UTAM is committed to responsible investing, which we define as the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making processes, active ownership – through proxy voting and engagement – and disclosure.
We pursue a responsible investing approach because we believe that material ESG factors can have a significant impact on investment returns. By integrating ESG considerations into our investment activities, we believe we can make better-informed decisions and ultimately achieve better outcomes for the portfolios we manage on behalf of the university.
Investments
The strategic asset allocation of the Pension and Endowment portfolios is represented by the benchmark Reference Portfolio, which has risk and return attributes consistent with the objectives of these portfolios.
The Reference Portfolio serves as the starting point for all of UTAM’s active investment decisions. As we implement our strategy, the Reference Portfolio provides us with an objective gauge for measuring the risk and value added of our investment activities.
The Reference Portfolio
Performance
We are focused on investing for the long term. Our most important performance objectives are to meet the university’s target rates of return and to add value to the portfolios by outperforming the benchmark Reference Portfolio while adhering to all constraints, including a formal risk budget.
Over the 10-year period ending in 2019, the Pension and Endowment portfolios each returned 8.5%. These returns exceeded the university’s target return of 5.8% and the benchmark Reference Portfolio return of 7.5%.
Reports
2019 Carbon Footprint Report:
Towards a Greener Future
As a signatory to the Montréal Carbon Pledge, UTAM has committed to measuring and disclosing the carbon footprints of U of T’s Pension and Endowment investment portfolios on an annual basis. This year’s report, our second, contains the portfolios’ carbon footprints as of September 30, 2018, and announces an ambitious goal to reduce them by 40%. The report also announces UTAM’s endorsement of the recommendations made by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
2019 Annual Report:
The 20 Year Advantage
Our 2019 Annual Report contains a detailed analysis of performance during the year and looks at how UTAM has applied the traditional four P’s – philosophy, people, process and performance – that are the hallmarks of successful investment managers.
News
UTAM Receives Excellent PRI Scores
We are pleased to report that UTAM has received high scores – our strongest yet – in the PRI’s annual assessment of our responsible investing approach. We received A+ marks in all six categories that…
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