Canada's largest pension fund has now allocated 47% of its total portfolio ($243 Billion) to U.S. assets

Currency movements have pushed U.S. assets to nearly half the value of Canada’s national pension fund, as its managers face growing calls from the domestic business community to increase investment at home.

According to its annual report released Wednesday, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) now holds 47% of its C$714 billion ($514 billion USD) portfolio in U.S. markets as of the end of March. That’s a significant increase from 36% two years ago.

Canada’s largest public pension manager reported a 9.3% return for the fiscal year ending March 31, driven by strong performance in credit, private equity, and equities. The reporting period concluded just two days before U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new global tariff policy that sent ripples through global markets.

Despite trade-related headwinds, CPPIB Chief Executive Officer John Graham said in an interview that the fund remains focused on long-term stability and won’t react with “sudden movements or sudden changes.” The portfolio, he said, is designed to withstand a variety of macroeconomic scenarios.

For years, Canada’s largest pension funds—often referred to as the “Maple Eight”—have pursued global diversification to enhance returns. However, this strategy has drawn criticism from parts of Canada’s financial sector. Last year, around 100 Canadian business leaders, including Montreal-based Letko Brosseau, signed an open letter urging the federal finance minister to revise the rules governing pension investments to encourage more domestic allocation.

Graham acknowledged the sentiment and said CPPIB is looking to increase its activity in Canada in the coming years, particularly in sectors like pipelines, oil and gas, and renewables.

He also noted that the increase in U.S. exposure last year was “almost entirely” due to the strength of the U.S. dollar. “Interestingly, you had to proactively prevent the portfolio from getting too overexposed into the U.S. over the past few years because it’s just performed so well,” he said, adding that the current allocation is “about right.”

U.S. investments delivered compound annual returns of 9.6% over the past five fiscal years, outperforming the fund’s Canadian holdings, which returned 5.8%, and European assets, which returned 6.6%.

Among the fund’s U.S. holdings are Ascend Learning, an online education provider, and Ports America, a marine terminal operator. Within its active equities group, 41% of assets are currently based in the U.S.