Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Buys 1.6% of Blackberry

[ThePointblank]

From The Globe and Mail:

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/blackberry-adds-top-10-investor-as-ontario-teachers-buys-shares/article21506830/

 

 

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan bought almost 7.8 million shares of BlackBerry Ltd. in the third quarter, giving John Chen’s turnaround plan another vote of confidence.
 

The retirement fund is now one of the Waterloo-based smartphone maker’s top 10 holders with 8.23 million shares as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing today. The 1.6 per cent stake is valued at about $84.5-million (U.S.), based on yesterday’s closing stock price.

One year in as chief executive officer, Chen has helped BlackBerry recover from a failed buyout and put its stock on pace to beat the Nasdaq Composite Index this year for the first time since 2009. Chen has outsourced manufacturing, sold real estate and focused on core business customers as he aims to start making a profit again next fiscal year.
 

BlackBerry had risen 38 per cent this year through yesterday. The shares were up 2.6 per cent to $10.54 at 2:48 p.m. New York time today.
 

“Given the multitude of changes that occur quarter to quarter, we don’t discuss individual stock holdings and increases/decreases in positions,” Deborah Allan, a spokeswoman for Ontario Teachers, said in an e-mail.

The pension fund manager also disclosed it bought almost 127,000 shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., China’s largest e-commerce company, during the quarter. The stake in Alibaba is valued at $14.2-million based on yesterday’s close.
 

Ontario Teachers had about $140.8-billion (Canadian) in assets under management at the end of last year.

A BlackBerry representative didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on the investment.

 

 

This is a very big boost in confidence in Blackberry. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is one of the world’s largest institutional investors, with total assets of $140.8 billion Canadian. Among other investments, The Teachers' Pension Plan owns Cadillac-Fairview, which owns and operates many malls around the world, and a number of large airports around the world. It is also one of the best performing pension plans in Canada as well, averaging 10% annual growth per year in the last 23 years.

[witting]

I don't know anythinf about that retirement fund but if they have 10% average growth over 23 years then It must mean something right?

[mr moose]

I don't know anythinf about that retirement fund but if they have 10% average growth over 23 years then It must mean something right

 

On the surface it sounds good, but then when you consider Australian super funds are averaging 7.4% over the last 20 years with a much smaller membership and investment base it may not be all that good.  I wonder how it compares to some of the larger investment firms in the EU?

[qwertywarrior]

........ umm ?!?!

why not just set it on fire ?

[Trik'Stari]

I'd like to know why tax money is being used to invest in things. Then again this might be normal or acceptable in Canada. I think it's kind of wrong but that's just me.

 

Unless that's a private pension fund or something, in that case good for them I guess?

[MoonSpot]

The OTPP also pulled out, to varying degrees, from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Bell (relatively recently).  Their investment personnel are definitely among the best in the business.

@Trik'Stari it's not tax money being used.  It is the union deploying the money that is deducted from salaries/pay cheques as part of their retirement plan and investing it so it will enjoy some growth while waiting for 65, thus the "Ontario teachers pension plan".

[Trik'Stari]

The OTPP also pulled out, to varying degrees, from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Bell (relatively recently).  Their investment personnel are definitely among the best in the business.

@Trik'Stari it's not tax money being used.  It is the union deploying the money that is deducted from salaries/pay cheques as part of their retirement plan and investing it so it will enjoy some growth while waiting for 65, thus the "Ontario teachers pension plan".

Oh. Well good for them I guess? Not a fan of unions (At least american ones because they always end up pocketing the money, and aren't that much different than organized crime). But if they are actually doing what they are supposed to then good for them.

[dalekphalm]

Oh. Well good for them I guess? Not a fan of unions (At least american ones because they always end up pocketing the money, and aren't that much different than organized crime). But if they are actually doing what they are supposed to then good for them.

Speaking as someone who's father is a member of the OSSTF (Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation - the union for High School teachers), and is retired, his retirement is in part possible because of that pension.

 

It's exactly the same as any large corporate pension/retirement fund. It's a "benefit" that tempts employees to work for them. They subtract a small amount of your pay every pay cheque, and then they invest that money to see growth. If they just stuck it in a bank account for 30-40 years, you'd see basically no growth at all. In fact, you'd essentially be losing money due to inflation.

 

Some companies will even match your contribution, up to a certain percent of your annual income. It's quite common as a benefit to lure potential employees. The norm here in Ontario is you can contribute up to 3% of your annual income, and your employer will match that, up to 3%. You can often contribute higher amounts, but the employer will only match up to that specific percentage. I do not know if the percentage cap is just an industry standard, or is an actual law.

 

Considering teachers are some of the most important people in modern society, and considering that being a teacher can be extremely hard, and very stressful, then yeah, they earned that 23% year over year growth! Obviously there are lots of bad teachers, but there are also way more good ones. And dealing with annoying punk-ass teenagers can really wear you down (No offense to our teenaged LTT members!)

[Trik'Stari]

Speaking as someone who's father is a member of the OSSTF (Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation - the union for High School teachers), and is retired, his retirement is in part possible because of that pension.

 

It's exactly the same as any large corporate pension/retirement fund. It's a "benefit" that tempts employees to work for them. They subtract a small amount of your pay every pay cheque, and then they invest that money to see growth. If they just stuck it in a bank account for 30-40 years, you'd see basically no growth at all. In fact, you'd essentially be losing money due to inflation.

 

Some companies will even match your contribution, up to a certain percent of your annual income. It's quite common as a benefit to lure potential employees. The norm here in Ontario is you can contribute up to 3% of your annual income, and your employer will match that, up to 3%. You can often contribute higher amounts, but the employer will only match up to that specific percentage. I do not know if the percentage cap is just an industry standard, or is an actual law.

 

Considering teachers are some of the most important people in modern society, and considering that being a teacher can be extremely hard, and very stressful, then yeah, they earned that 23% year over year growth! Obviously there are lots of bad teachers, but there are also way more good ones. And dealing with annoying punk-ass teenagers can really wear you down (No offense to our teenaged LTT members!)

Oh I wasn't picking on them. If it's an optional group that's even better. But here in the states you are pretty much required to be apart of the union if one exists, and if you aren't, well you can expect to have your tires slashed, be followed home by several men with baseball bats, have your life threatened, etc. The issue is that in places like detroit, the unions have made it impossible for companies to stay open and they ended up closing shop and moving away.

 

My father once worked for a mining company, and he showed up for work one day to find a line of men with baseball bats preventing anyone from getting into the site. It was the union on strike, and he asked of he could go inside and call the boss to come down and talk with them, they basically said "get the fuck out of here" so he left, found a pay phone, called his boss, and quit. Sadly that's how most unions in the US are, they resort to thuggery and criminal behavior to get their way, and they usually end up getting their way because they supported local politicians and got them elected etc.

[Silent_Xaxal]

Speaking as someone who's father is a member of the OSSTF (Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation - the union for High School teachers), and is retired, his retirement is in part possible because of that pension.

 

It's exactly the same as any large corporate pension/retirement fund. It's a "benefit" that tempts employees to work for them. They subtract a small amount of your pay every pay cheque, and then they invest that money to see growth. If they just stuck it in a bank account for 30-40 years, you'd see basically no growth at all. In fact, you'd essentially be losing money due to inflation.

 

Some companies will even match your contribution, up to a certain percent of your annual income. It's quite common as a benefit to lure potential employees. The norm here in Ontario is you can contribute up to 3% of your annual income, and your employer will match that, up to 3%. You can often contribute higher amounts, but the employer will only match up to that specific percentage. I do not know if the percentage cap is just an industry standard, or is an actual law.

 

Considering teachers are some of the most important people in modern society, and considering that being a teacher can be extremely hard, and very stressful, then yeah, they earned that 23% year over year growth! Obviously there are lots of bad teachers, but there are also way more good ones. And dealing with annoying punk-ass teenagers can really wear you down (No offense to our teenaged LTT members!)

 

Somehow, Canada is looking so much more better than the US right now. I've been noticing that for the past 3 years.

[patrickjp93]

Somehow, Canada is looking so much more better than the US right now. I've been noticing that for the past 3 years.

Only in the last 3? You've been better since the days of McCarthy.