As an industry leader OMERS and its investment entities are often in the news and we frequently respond to media calls related to our activities. At times we are able to arrange in-depth interviews for reporters with members of our senior team.
Today we wanted to draw your attention to a story in which OMERS was featured prominently in a story by Karen Mazurkewich in the Financial Post.
“This kind of media coverage generates brand recognition and helps build on OMERS positive reputation,” said
John Pierce , Vice President of OMERS Corporate Communications.
OMERS 'goes global'; Pension fund to launch bevy of new investment platforms
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Counterclockwise from back left: James Donegan, President & CEO, OMERS Capital Markets; Jenny Tsouvalis, Senior Vice President, Investment Operations & Applications; Jacques Demers, President & CEO of OMERS Strategic Investments; Michael Latimer, President & CEO, Oxford Properties (seated left); Paul Renaud, President & CEO, OMERS Private Equity; Gord Phillips, President & CEO, OMERS Energy Services; Michael Rolland, President & CEO, Borealis Infrastructure
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National Post
June 1, 2009
Byline: Karen Mazurkewich, Financial Post
Its investment portfolio has shrunk but rather than retrench, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has launched an aggressive rebranding exercise with the intent of expanding its presence and its influence around the world.
In addition to opening new offices in Calgary and New York, the pension fund is drumming up interest in establishing a multi-billion dollar "programmed co-investing" capital pool with a collective of other institutional managers around the world -- the first of its kind for a Canadian pension fund.
The makeover of OMERS began late last year, when its board of directors renamed its group of portfolios OMERS Worldwide and hired Jacques Demers as its new head of strategic investments (OSI).
Less than five months into the job, Mr. Demers is spearheading the "go global" and greater "direct investment" strategies for the pension fund. "We are living through challenging times, we all know that and it's time in our view for a game-changer," said Mr . Demers.
Through his strategic investment arm, Mr. Demers is planning to launch as many as seven new investment platforms that will supplement and support OMERS existing investment arms that specialize in infrastructure, real estate, private equity and the capital markets.
The first platform under the OSI umbrella, OMERS Energy Services LP, was announced in February after OMERS purchased Calgary-based Guard Resources and made its former chief executive Gord Phillips head of a new $700-million portfolio aimed at making acquisitions in the oil and gas sector.
But the energy platform is only the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Demers is also in the final stages of announcing at least two new investment platforms that will support its real estate and infrastructure investments. One of these platforms will be a co-investment with an overseas fund, he said. A specialized private-debt arm that could invest in commercial mortgages and financial paper may also be in the offing.
"We want to reach across the enterprise and build out," says Mr. Demers, who has already vetted 60-odd investment opportunities in the short time he's taken over the job. Some of the opportunities fall into his OSI portfolio, but the others he will redirect to other portfolios. The goal is to increase communications across the funds to better leverage expertise, said Mr. Demers. This will be increasingly important as OMERS continues to push towards its 2012 goal of managing 90% of all its assets internally.
Mr. Demers is also overseeing the opening of several new offices. In addition to building out its London office, Mr. Demers plans to open an OMERS Worldwide office in Calgary in 2010, which will not only house OMERS Energy Services but include personnel from its other investment entities. A third office is scheduled to open New York City this summer, its first "beach-head in the U.S.," says Mr. Demers. While it will initially house only the private-equity team, Mr. Demers is exploring opening a Worldwide office there as well.
Having a U.S. office is critical for investment officers vetting opportunities south of the border. Yesterday, OMERS announced its first U.S. private-equity deal: it purchased 100% of Nordco Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of railway products previously owned by a small U.S. private-equity firm. Although a dollar value wasn't placed on the deal, the company's annual revenues are $150-million and it employs close to 400 people, according to Paul Renaud, president and chief executive of OMERS Private Equity.
"Under private-equity in the past, we've done more what I call controlled acquisitions in Canada, and this was our first in the U.S. transaction," said Mr. Renaud. "We are looking at leveraging the strength of what we've been doing in the last couple of years and become more active investors," he added.
OMERS office expansion is also part of a larger plan to create a separate super pool of capital alongside its other portfolios. In recent months, Mr. Demers has met with more than a dozen pension managers and sovereign wealth funds to discuss the idea of teaming up to create a new multi-billion fund.
To join, each partner must make a long-term, multi-billion dollar commitment, but it won't operate like a traditional fund. OMERS experts will direct deal flow, but there will be no overhead management fees attached, and it will have its own independent board of directors comprised of representatives from the various participating agencies.
Originally, Mr. Demers thought this style of "committed investment fund" would appeal to international players, but he's now fielding calls from local institutional funds, and is close to signing a few partners. It could be the first of its kind among pension funds in Canada.
"Our history has proven that if we can get into a larger product or invest as a principal capital investor, our returns are higher," Mr. Demers said.
