Ontario Teachers' two private books went opposite ways
Ontario Teachers' runs two separate private equity operations and in 2025 they moved in opposite directions. Its buyout arm returned -5.3% against an 18.0% benchmark and cut the carrying value of its companies from C$60.4 billion to C$50.8 billion. Its late-stage venture arm returned +30.2%. Same institution, same year, same valuation policy, 35 points apart. The plan still finished the year fully funded.
Key numbers, and what they mean
-5.3%
What its private equity book returned in 2025, against a benchmark of 18.0%. It marked its companies down from C$60.4 billion to C$50.8 billion while public markets rose.
+30.2%
What its separate late-stage venture book returned in the same year, against a benchmark of 18.5%. It grew from C$10.4 billion to C$15.3 billion, and to C$25.9 billion by June 2026.
6.7%
The total fund's 2025 return against an 11.7% benchmark, a shortfall of C$12.0 billion. Private marks, not public markets, caused it.
111%
Its funding ratio at 1 January 2026, a C$31.2 billion surplus and a 13th straight fully funded year. Preliminary. A bad year against the benchmark did not threaten the pensions.
Exposure by asset class, June 2026
Equity46%
Real assets25%
Fixed income21%
Inflation sensitive18%
Credit13%
Absolute return8%
Ontario Teachers' reports exposure summing to 131% of net investments, reconciled by a funding line of -31%.
The read-through
From the report
Takeaway: how to apply it to a portfolio
Private equity returned -5.3% while venture growth returned +30.2% in the same year, at the same institution, under the same valuation policy.
Private markets are not one exposure. Buyouts, growth equity and venture answer to different drivers and different teams. Track each separately, or a blended number will hide both the part that is working and the part that is not.
Ontario Teachers' cut its private equity carrying value from C$60.4 billion to C$50.8 billion, and its chief executive described the cuts as disciplined year-end adjustments to reflect market conditions.
Somebody has to mark a private holding, and the honest mark is often the unflattering one. A manager who writes nothing down in a year like this is telling you about their process rather than about their portfolio.
The fund returned 6.7% against an 11.7% benchmark, a C$12.0 billion shortfall, and still ended 111% funded with a C$31.2 billion surplus.
One bad year against a benchmark is not by itself a problem. Check whether the shortfall threatens what the money is actually for before you change anything in response to it.
The Argus lensOntario Teachers' has more than 80 investment professionals marking and managing its own private book. You are being shown marks that somebody else produced. Whether a fund's carrying value and its reported return hold up against comparable deals is exactly the read we give you.
Benchmark your deals in the Portal →
About the source
Ontario Teachers' 2025 annual report and results release, published March 2026, cover the year ended 31 December 2025: the 6.7% total-fund return, the asset-class returns against their benchmarks, and the carrying values. The asset mix is from its half-year results to 30 June 2026. The 111% funded status is a preliminary 1 January 2026 valuation.