Canadian Pension Manager AIMCo Sets Up in Singapore with Hire of GIC Exec

Canadian pension fund manager Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has hired former GIC veteran Kevin Bong to oversee its investment strategy globally while leading its recently established Singapore operations.

AIMCo, which invests globally on behalf of pension, endowment and government funds in Alberta, has appointed Bong as senior managing director, chief investment strategist and head of Singapore starting from 14 August.

“Kevin’s extensive global experience will serve our clients well as we enhance our total portfolio activities and as we deepen our footprint, our partnerships, and our investments in Asia and around the world,” Marlene Puffer, chief investment officer at AIMCo said in a press release last Tuesday.

The announcement by the $135 billion fund manager places it among a flock of Canadian pension fund managers setting up shop in Singapore, including the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

APAC Expansion Planned

With over 20 years of experience in global portfolio construction and capital allocation, Bong’s responsibilities for AIMCo will include overseeing total portfolio management and fund allocations as well as currency and cash management.

As head investment strategist, he will also be in charge of AIMCo’s pan-sector strategy which is designed to give the fund manager geographic diversification while following a thematic investment model.

While AIMCo did not elaborate on its new team and office in Singapore, the announcement comes a year after a representative of the Edmonton-based institution hinted in comments to Bloomberg that the Southeast Asian city-state was its favoured headquarters location as it ramps up investment in Asia.

While AIMCo had some 2 percent of its C$8.2 billion (now $6.1 billion) in private equity holdings allocated to Asia as of 2021 and 7 percent of its infrastructure assets, the organisation listed no real estate investments in the region in its most recent annual report.

In 2022 AIMCo was among the backers of a $700 million private credit fund targeting real asset deals set up by Temasek Holdings-backed asset managers Keppel Capital and Clifford Capital.

Bong started his career at GIC as an investment officer in 2005 and worked for the fund until serving a nearly three-year stint with Toronto-based OPSEU Pension Trust, which manages investments for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the Government of Ontario from 2014.

Returning to GIC in 2017, Bong held a progression of more senior roles before being named managing director and director of economics and investment strategy in 2019

“I am delighted to welcome Kevin to AIMCo, and I am certain that he will make an immediate impact, given his long-standing track record in total portfolio management and, as a supportive collaborator with the investment partners that we work with in the Asia-Pacific region,” Puffer said.

Alongside his day job, Bong also holds seats on the boards of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute and the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. In Singapore, he is a member of the investment committee for the National University of Singapore (NUS) Board of Trustees as well as for the Tote Board of Singapore, a grantmaking organisation.

Bong earned a degree in electrical engineering, computer science and management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005.

Singapore Magnetism

AIMCo announced the establishment of its Singapore beachhead during the same week that , the Financial Times reported that CDPQ is shutting down its Shanghai office.

The pension fund manager’s real estate arm, Ivanhoe Cambridge, had earlier relocated its investment team to Singapore from Hong Kong, supported by a set of new appointments last year. The organisation no longer lists a Hong Kong address on its website.

“It’s certainly not just one company and we have seen a few examples of investors either redistributing their staff or moving their entire head office to Singapore,” said Will Buck, managing director for APAC at property recruitment consultancy Macdonald and Company. Adding that he expects to see more from this trend in the future, Buck explained, “I think it’s a combination of a shift in geographical coverage and the markets these companies are investing in now and the ease of fund set-up in Singapore for institutional investors.”

In 2020, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which was among the first Canadian pension funds to hit the brakes on their investments in China, officially opened its Singapore office to support its APAC expansion. Ontario Teachers’ said recently that it has now trimmed its mainland portfolio allocation to just 2.3 percent.

OMERS, which manages C$124 billion in assets, has had a presences in the Lion City since 2018, while Canada’s largest public pension fund manager, CPPIB, as well as Quadreal, the real estate arm of British Columbia Investment Management, operate from Hong Kong.