AIMCo, the Crown corporation that manages investments on behalf of Alberta's pension, endowment, insurance, and government funds, wrapped up 2025 with a net return of 7.6% — translating to $13.1 billion — for its Balanced Fund.

The strong headline number was driven largely by public equities, which gained 19.4% on the year, buoyed by investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and rising earnings expectations. Fixed income portfolios also held steady, while private markets had a rougher go — real estate was the only asset class to finish in the red, down 2.2%.

That weakness in private markets contributed to the fund underperforming its benchmark by 2.7%, a gap AIMCo attributed to the difficulty of the private market environment and the use of public market-linked benchmarks for private asset classes.

Zooming out, the picture looks solid. AIMCo posted annualized returns of 5.7% over four years and 7.2% over ten years, with total client assets under management reaching $194.7 billion at year-end — up from $179.6 billion in 2024.

CEO Ray Gilmour pointed to geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility as the backdrop for the year, calling the result a reflection of the team's discipline. Detailed performance figures will be available when AIMCo releases its full 2025 Annual Report in June.