Pension Principal

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has been part of so many large private equity deals of late that it is sometimes confused for a sovereign wealth fund. Instead, CPP Investment Board is an affiliate of a major Canadian pension with an empowering mandate to “maximize risk without undue risk of loss.” In an exclusive interview with Privcap, Jim Fasano, head of principal investing for CPP Investment Board, describes the unusually fluid interplay between his firm’s public and private equity allocations, and the repercussions of its much higher profile. He describes the challenges of building a program linked to a pension that will likely grow to $300 billion within 10 years.

Fasano also offers insight into a deal that made every LP co-investor in the world envious – Skype, in which CPP IB made a direct investment and from which it enjoyed a huge return when the internet telephony company was sold to Microsoft.