OMERS loses Asia private equity head

A spokesperson for the Canadian pension fund confirmed the departure. According to a source with knowledge of the matter, a successor has not yet been named. The OMERS website lists two other Asia-based private equity professionals, including Philip French, a director.

Payne (pictured) joined OMERS in 2009 as a founding member of the European private equity team. He relocated to Asia in 2018, setting up the pension fund's Singapore office, which serves as a hub for several investment strategies in the region.

OMERS had C$109 billion ($82 billion) in assets as of December 2019, of which 8% was in Asia Pacific. It had C$15.7 billion in private equity, C$21.3 billion in infrastructure, and C$17.5 billion in real estate. Over the past five years, it has deployed C$34 billion into the three asset classes.

Private equity delivered a 4.6% net return in 2019, down from 13.5% the previous year. The benchmark is 11%. The three-year average return on the asset class is 9.7%, compared to 8.5% for the overall portfolio.

OMERS has 19 direct PE investments in North America and Europe. Its only disclosed direct holdings in Asia – within private markets – are in infrastructure. The pension fund made its first investment in India last year, buying a stake in toll road operator IndInfravit Trust. Last month, it acquired 20% of Australian electricity grid operator TransGrid. OMERS is also an investor in Port of Melbourne.

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