management corporation type crown corporation industry investment management founded 1 january 2008 ; 8 years ago 2008 01 01 headquarters edmonton alberta canada key people kevin uebelein ceo 1 mac van wielingen chairman 2 total assets c 90 billion 2014 3 number of employees 350 website aimco.alberta.ca alberta investment management corporation aimco is one of canada s largest and most diversified institutional investment fund managers with an investment portfolio of approximately 90 billion . headquartered in edmonton alberta aimco manages the assets of 31 clients a diverse set of public sector pensions endowments and government funds . contents 1 history 2 strategy 2.1 equities 2.2 illiquid investments 2.3 fixed income 2.4 asset mix as of 2015 2.5 historical performance 2.6 responsible investing 3 significant transactions 3.1 autopista central 3.2 porterbrook 3.3 grupo saesa 3.4 london city airport 3.5 bbc television centre 4 organization 4.1 employees 4.2 operating costs 4.3 governance 4.4 board of directors 24 5 clients 5.1 alberta heritage savings trust fund 5.2 pension plans 5.3 government funds 6 citations 7 references 8 external links history edit legislation creating aimco was passed by the alberta legislature on march 20 2007 4 and aimco became a crown corporation on january 1 2008 . 5 prior to becoming a crown corporation in 2008 the corporation s assets were managed by a division of alberta finance . at march 31 2009 assets under its administration totaled approximately 69.0 billion 2008 75.7 billion at market value . 6 in its 2009 annual report aimco published its total fund return was 10.1 % for the year ending march 31 2009 . 6 14 in 2015 aimco earned a 9.1 % total fund net return on behalf of its clients . 7 by 2015 aimco was managing 4 endowment funds 7 pension plans 9 government funds 8 specialty funds and 2 other balanced funds . strategy edit aimco is one of several pooled investment portfolios in canada that allow for client controlled asset allocation for multiple public sector pension plans and investment funds . through pooled asset management these entities achieve sufficient scale to produce significant cost savings through internal investment management and access to alternative asset classes . through funds like these canada is emerging as a world wide leader in successfully adapting the advantages of large funds to the public sector . these are arm s length investment management entities with sufficient scale independent boards and internal investment management remunerated at rates competitive with the private sector . 8 aimco s focuses its investments across three broad categories equities illiquid investments and fixed income all employing varying strategies . equities edit equity holdings which contain both public and private equity total to 43 % 2015 of aum . the public equity portfolio maintains exposure to a diversifying set of common style factors as well as stock selection and other idiosyncratic risk . by investing with both private funds and co venture deals aimco private equity focuses on business that generate stable free cash flow and are operated by strong management teams . illiquid investments edit illiquid investments which constitute 22 % of aum include long term holdings in real estate infrastructure and timberland . the long term real estate assets are the core strategy direct investments in office retail industrial and multi unit residential properties located in major canadian centres . aimco s infrastructure investments match long duration real return asset characteristics with inflation indexed pension liabilities . the timberland assets are held to provide inflation hedging and a long term duration match with client obligations . fixed income edit the fixed income portfolios are managed with the objective of capital preservation liquidity and risk controlled return relative to benchmark . these asset classes make up 35 % of aimco s aum . asset mix as of 2015 edit asset class aum cdn billion % of total fund equities 38.8 43 fixed income 19.8 22 illiquid 31.6 35 historical performance edit 2015 calendar year ending december 31 2015 9.1 % 7 2014 calendar year ending december 31 2014 9.9 % 9 2013 calendar year ending december 31 2013 12.5 % 10 2012 calendar year ending december 31 2012 10.8 % 11 2011 2012 fiscal year ending march 31 2012 7.9 % 12 2010 2011 fiscal year ending march 31 2011 8.2 % 13 2009 2010 fiscal year ending march 31 2010 12.0 % 14 responsible investing edit aimco s approach to responsible investment is governed by its fiduciary duty to clients and a long term investment horizon . aimco seeks to maximize risk adjusted returns by integrating environmental social and governance esg factors into investment analysis across all asset classes . aimco s responsible investment processes include exercising proxy voting rights on behalf of aimco s clients at annual general meetings of publicly traded companies globally to enhance shareholder value . votes are guided through aimco s proxy voting guidelines and take into account unique circumstances and markets . engaging with companies to effect positive change when possible and collaborate with like minded investors to influence corporate behavior rather than divesting of applicable holdings ; an approach called voice over exit . engagements are identified through esg focus areas approved by aimco s responsible investment committee . being a signatory to the united nations principles for responsible investment pri the responsible investment association the canadian coalition of good governance ccgg and several others . disclosing its responsible investment policies guiding documents activities and proxy voting record on its website . significant transactions edit autopista central edit acquired in 2011 this chilean toll road was sold for 1.5 cad billion in 2015 to abertis infraestructuras sa abertis . 15 this investment was the first aimco only led private investment in the organization s history . the active management and eventual monetization of this asset captured significant value add as it saw a positive return on investment . porterbrook edit aimco alongside long term infrastructure investors allianz capital partners acp and hastings fund management hastings purchased porterbrook rail finance limited porterbook for an undisclosed amount . 16 this major rolling stock leasing uk company owns and manages a fleet of approximately 5 900 railway vehicles . aimco is still a major stakeholder in this company . grupo saesa edit in 2011 aimco on behalf of its clients acquired morgan stanley infrastructure partners 50 % interest in the chilean company inversiones grupo saesa limitada grupo saesa . 17 this electricity transmission and distribution company is jointly owned by aimco and ontario teacher s pension plan otpp . london city airport edit aimco on behalf of its clients ontario municipal employees retirement system omers ontario teacher s pension plan otpp and wren house infrastructure management limited wren house acquired the london city airport in 2016 . 18 this group called the consortium committed to developing the existing and new airline relationship and routes improving the airport s customer service and generating opportunities for new and existing employees . bbc television centre edit in 2012 stanhope mitsui fudosan uk and aimco on behalf of its clients completed the purchased bbc television centre in west london . construction began in summer of 2015 to develop homes offices hotels retail and leisure facilities within this 13.7 acre area . 19 organization edit employees edit when aimco was created on january 1 2008 it had a staff of 137 . by december 31 2015 the number of employees has grown to 352 with 121 in investment management and risk 153 in investment operations and 78 in corporate services . operating costs edit aimco operates on a cost recovery basis . total expenses for the year ended march 31 2014 were 445 million equating to 46 cents per 100 of invested assets . 20 aimco is increasing internal investments in people and technology to achieve greater cost efficiencies over the next three years . it expects to internalize the management of an additional 8 billion of assets 5 billion in equities and 3 billion in inflation sensitive . the net result is a projected savings of 45 million in operating costs every year starting in 2012 . these cost savings may then be passed along to the clients on whose behalf funds are managed . citation needed governance edit aimco was established as a crown corporation by the province of alberta to provide independent arms length investment management services to designated pension funds and provincial public sector bodies and funds with strong accountability for its investment decisions . according to aimco s website 21 the board of directors is responsible for overseeing management of the business and affairs of aimco . as part of this mandate the board sets the strategic direction of the corporation and oversees the development and implementation of policies and procedures that govern the conduct of aimco s business . aimco website according to the alberta investment management corporation regulation 22 individuals appointed to the board must have proven and demonstrable experience and expertise in investment management finance accounting or law or experience as an executive or a director in a senior publicly traded issuer . alberta investment management corporation regulation section 5 . according to aimco s 2010 2011 annual report 23 39 directors are required by statute to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the corporation and are required to exercise the care diligence and skill that a reasonable and prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances . the board of directors meets six times every year with meetings scheduled one year in advance . additional meetings are arranged as required . aimco annual report board of directors 24 edit mac h. van wielingen chair john t. ferguson vice chair george f.j. gosbee virginia holmes harold a. roozen andrea s. rosen robert l. vivian jr. helen kearns tom woods ross grieve j richard bird clients edit aimco manages funds for a diverse group of alberta public sector clients . it creates portfolios that reflect the clients chosen risk and return profiles . the majority of aimco s assets under management come from alberta public sector pension plans and provincial endowment funds . collectively known as aimco s balanced funds these clients are primarily invested in equities bonds and inflation sensitive products . other assets managed for the government of alberta are generally invested in money market and short term bonds . alberta heritage savings trust fund edit main article alberta heritage savings trust fund the alberta heritage savings trust fund was created in 1976 by the alberta heritage savings trust fund act 25 with three objectives to save for the future to strengthen or diversify the economy and to improve the quality of life of albertans . 26 initially the fund received 30 per cent of alberta s non renewable resource royalties . during the early 1980s the fund made loans to other provincial governments in canada . later the fund s money was used for capital infrastructure projects . 26 to date over 33 billion has been made available to fund albertans priorities such as health care education infrastructure and social programs . the fund is managed with the goal of maximizing long term real returns at a prudent level of risk . under the alberta heritage savings trust fund act all income less the amount required for inflation proofing is used as revenue by the government . the heritage fund is a member of the international forum of sovereign wealth funds and is therefore signed up to the santiago principles on best practice in managing sovereign wealth funds . 27 aimco works closely with alberta treasury board and finance to set long term objectives for the heritage fund and implements these objectives through investments in a globally diversified mix of bonds public and private equities hedge funds real estate and other real asset investments such as infrastructure and timberland . pension plans edit aimco manages the investment assets on behalf of the following pension plans on