At OMERS, we are moving to grow our assets through enhanced global reach, increasing our active management approach to investments and teaming with other like-minded plans.
Reporting to the Board of Directors of the OMERS Administration Corporation, the President and CEO is responsible for the overall management of OMERS, its investment entities and operating divisions. The President and CEO incorporates Board direction into the development of OMERS Strategic Plan and its annual operating goals and objectives.
OMERS Strategic Investments is an entity under the OMERS Worldwide brand. From its offices in Toronto, Calgary, New York and London, UK, OMERS Strategic Investments draws on the talents and successes of all OMERS investment teams.
OMERS Strategic Investments mandate is to:
OMERS Investment Management (OIM) is an entity separate from OMERS Administration Corporation and independently managed, but is part of the OMERS Worldwide group.
OMERS Investment Management’s mandate is to attract third-party capital from eligible clients by providing authorized services (as defined under the OMERS Act). Eligible clients include Canadian public and private sector pension plans, corporations, governments and their agencies, colleges, universities and their endowments and Canadian registered charities.
OIM has established investment arrangements that provide eligible clients with access to the performance of all or parts of the annual investment return of the OMERS Primary Plan Fund.
The OMERS Board Secretariat provides the OMERS Administration Corporation Board with executive and administrative support, including documenting the Board's decision-making processes at all Board meetings and those of its Standing Committees.
Reporting to the President and CEO, the Chief Investment Officer is responsible for the strategic, operational and financial leadership of OMERS investment entities, which include OMERS Capital Markets, OMERS Private Equity, Borealis Infrastructure and Oxford Properties. The Chief Investment Officer drives the investment strategy for OMERS and represents management before the Investment Committee of the Board.
OMERS Capital Markets (OCM) manages the public market investments portfolio of bonds, currencies and other interest-bearing assets, as well as publicly traded equities in Canadian and global financial markets. OCM is responsible for prudently investing funds with the objective of achieving the highest, most consistent returns commensurate with the risk profile of the OMERS Fund and its other principal objectives.
Borealis Infrastructure is a leader in developing infrastructure investing as an asset class. Borealis manages a global portfolio of infrastructure investments: inflation-sensitive assets that are critical to the long-term success of a modern industrial economy. These investments require long-term capital commitments and typically generate consistent annual cash flows: a perfect fit in meeting OMERS long-term pension obligations.
Oxford Properties Group is responsible for carrying out OMERS strategy of developing a global real estate enterprise. This strategy is focused on owning and managing large-scale assets and diverse property types in varied geographic markets to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns. Well-managed real estate investments generate reliable cash flows and typically appreciate in value over time in step with inflation, which enables OMERS to meet its pension obligations.
OMERS Private Equity (formerly OMERS Capital Partners) manages a diverse portfolio of fund relationships and direct investments. OMERS will invest up to 10 per cent of its assets in the ownership of equity or equity-like securities in companies that do not generally trade publicly. Our goal is to build an international portfolio of investments diversified by geographic market, industry sector, company size, and type of investment.
Pension Operations provides front-line services to plan members and employers, administers the OMERS Pension Plans, and provides analytical support on all initiatives relating to pension systems. At its core are teams dedicated to meeting the pension promise -- enrolling and maintaining member records, providing benefit options to members at critical moments including retirement, completing transactions such as pension transfers, responding to client inquiries, partnering with employers to ensure accurate and timely data and paying pensions to more than 110,000 retired members and survivors. This division is also responsible for analyzing Pension Services business needs, developing detailed business requirements for pension systems enhancements and pension initiatives, as well as providing documentation support.
Pension Advisory provides expert policy and actuarial analysis to support OMERS Administration Corporation and Sponsors Corporation on plan funding, plan design and contribution rate decisions. The group also provides support for decisions related to new products and services, as well as technical changes requiring amendments to the Plan text. Pension Advisory researches and reviews proposed pension reforms and their implications for the Plan, and co-ordinates OMERS response to governments.
Pension Business Initiatives delivers strategy, short- and long-term planning, design, and project management for new pension initiatives related to growth and innovation. The office interacts with all areas of Pension Services -- as well as corporate areas such as information technology, finance and audit -- to identify emerging issues, develop project and business readiness strategies, and provide reports to track progress on strategic initiatives.
The Communications team is responsible for providing enterprise wide communications services and maximizing a consistent and positive reputation of OMERS. Communications develops strategies and works with program areas to ensure their communications initiatives reflect corporate goals and messages. The team produces all communications and marketing materials including the OMERS Annual Report. Various supporting capabilities include comprehensive communications and education for OMERS membership and participating employers and employee training to maintain best-in-class pension services delivery. The team also provides technical writing and graphic design support as well as managing the OMERS website and intranet.
Government and Stakeholder Relations (GSR) is responsible for identifying, monitoring, and representing OMERS on government and stakeholder issues that may impact the OMERS enterprise. GSR typically co-ordinates the analysis of relevant governmental policies and directs advocacy efforts for positions of the OMERS Administration Corporation in appropriate government settings. GSR also ensures the maintenance of relationships with key OMERS stakeholders and provides guidance and leadership on all issues of concern to stakeholders. These include but are not limited to employer associations, member unions and associations, retiree groups and various provincial and national organizations.
Finance and Administration provides essential corporate services to OMERS in financial reporting, administration and strategic planning. Finance and Administration also has a significant role in managing OMERS complex relationships with external professional organizations, such as the external auditors and credit rating agencies.
Business Services provides enterprise-wide service and support, in space and facility management, building security, office services, Records and Information Management (RIM), and business continuance. Business Services ensures that service is carried out and monitored to quality expectations, and that service providers adhere to contractual obligations, quality and service levels.
Information Technology provides leadership and strategic direction in IT initiatives for all areas of OMERS. Its mandate is to provide superior operational services in a cost-effective and secure manner and to assist OMERS in achieving its goals. These services include maintenance of all technology environments and IT applications; IT architecture; IT support and service, desktop services and hardware acquisition; software development; telecom; and business continuance.
Audit Services carries out independent, objective, and value-added assessments of the efficiency, effectiveness and integrity of processes and financial and operating controls of OMERS and its legal entities and affiliated organizations. In addition, Audit Services provides reasonable assurance to management and the AC Board, through the Audit Committee, that the financial, operational, procedural, and information system controls and practices are appropriate and effective to reduce OMERS exposure to risk and loss.
The Legal team provides strategic advice to OMERS business units and the AC Board, to ensure that legal risks are well managed. The team is responsible for identifying legal issues affecting OMERS strategic direction, its pension and investment entities. The Compliance team oversees and reports on compliance with regulatory requirements and handles securities regulatory monitoring and filings. The legal team also includes a subsidiary secretariat function and oversees the structuring of investment transactions to meet regulatory requirements, and any litigation involving OMERS.
The Pension Legal team provides ongoing, practical and timely legal advice to OMERS Pension Services and other business areas on both a proactive and reactive basis. Pension Legal also develops strategies and initiatives to enhance Plan administration and manage and reduce risk. In addition, Pension Legal oversees the OMERS Pension Plans texts, provides legal support on strategic growth initiatives such as new products, and manages litigation matters.
Reporting to the President and CEO, the Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for providing overall strategic leadership across the OMERS organization. The Chief Human Resources Officer takes a “world view”, understanding the opportunities and challenges of global trends across OMERS, develops and implements human capital strategies to support OMERS in achieving its business objectives across the enterprise.
The OMERS HR model distributes the delivery of Human Resources activities to the organization into two areas: HR Centres of Excellence and HR Business Partners.
HR Centres of Excellence incorporate best practices appropriate to OMERS and effective governance as they design, deliver and manage enterprise wide programs, support business leaders, and ensure the required enterprise wide HR infrastructure is in place for effective delivery of programs. Programs include those that attract, engage, develop and retain talent - including those programs focused on compensation, benefits, wellness and recognition.
HR Business Partners work alongside senior leaders and their teams, as their consolidated point of contact, to provide strategic HR support across the corporate groups and investment entities. HR Business Partners work in close partnership with HR Centres of Excellence to ensure the entire HR team delivers the most relevant HR advice and programs to support the enterprise and people in the achievement of business objectives and strategy.
OMERS has members from more than 930 different employers.