Portfolio

Each STF pension or benefit plan has its own investment fund and a unique investment strategy behind it that suits its liability structure.

In total, the STF invests roughly $8.3 billion to fund the four benefit plans. As such, the Federation manages one of the largest asset bases of pension and benefit plans across the province. About 96 percent of that resides in the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Retirement Plan fund.

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Retirement Plan has a long-time horizon before it will have to pay members their pension (think about when you first started contributing to the Plan and when you will start receiving your pension). As a result, the STRP fund holds significant investments in equities, which are expected to provide better returns in the long term, even if they often experience short-term volatility. The STRP fund also has an allocation to less liquid alternative assets like real estate and infrastructure. Because the Plan has more time to invest before payout is required, it can take on more illiquid investments and have a higher allocation to equities than STF’s other benefit plans.