Category: Uncategorised

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Coulson as our first global head of ESG. This newly created role reflects our corporate-wide commitment to sustainable investing and will further strengthen oversight and integration of our ESG and climate-related ambitions.

As global head, Jennifer is responsible for all ESG strategies and programs at the total portfolio level. She will continue to evolve our approach in line with the fast-changing ESG landscape and lead our work supporting the global goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“BCI continues to look to the future to meet our clients’ long-term financial goals. Appointing a global head of ESG allows us to expand our ability to manage risks and capture opportunities,” says Gordon J. Fyfe, BCI’s chief executive officer and chief investment officer. “Since joining BCI in 2012, Jennifer has built a world-class public markets ESG team focused on active ownership and laid the foundation for our corporate-wide ESG governance structures and strategies. I look forward to her continued leadership at BCI.”

As a long-term investor, BCI continues to expand its ESG strategies as well as increase capacity across all teams. This centralized ESG leadership role will increase consistency and coordination across the corporation, while allowing for ESG professionals to be embedded across their respective business, allowing flexibility for tailored approaches within each asset class.

“BCI has actively considered ESG and climate change for more than two decades. As we grow our global presence and our ESG talent, having a unified ESG approach is increasingly important,” says Jennifer Coulson, newly appointed senior managing director & global head, ESG. “There is a tremendous opportunity to build on our leading ESG practices and work across teams to create value in our portfolio and for our clients.”

Jennifer holds a degree in environment and resource management from Western University and a masters in environmental studies from York University. She has received the corporate director designation (ICD.D) from the Institute of Corporate Directors; chairs the 30% Club Canada investor group; serves on the Government of Canada’s Sustainable Finance Action Council; sits on the investment advisory committee for the University of Victoria Student Investment Fund; and is a board member for the SDI Asset Owner Platform. Jennifer has been recognized as one of British Columbia’s most influential women in finance by BC Business Magazine.

Learn more about BCI’s approach to ESG and climate action at BCI.ca/ESG

Publishes white paper on modernizing trading to help establish gold standard at large institutional asset managers.

Victoria, BC – British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) has released an industry-first white paper detailing our innovative centralized trading framework which provides clients with greater portfolio returns, lower fees, and allows for improved risk management.

“As BCI transitioned successfully to an active in-house global asset manager, we built a value-added, modern centralized trading framework,” said Daniel Garant, executive vice president & global head, public markets. “Our framework was designed with a cross-asset mindset to enhance portfolio returns, lower costs and better manage risk. It was imperative that our platform deliver best trade execution, as well as have strong governance to help influence ESG practices with our global financial partners, in addition to streamlining processes, efficiencies, and scalability for our continued growth.”

Our centralized, end-to-end trading approach ensures connectivity at the highest levels and enables one cross-asset desk to execute for the entire corporation. Having a complete picture of trading activities, fees, and data allows for better aggregated pricing on total transactions with partners, and further allows for better decision making grounded in centralized data sources.

“We are pleased to be working closely with BCI in the provision of front- to back-office capabilities that help facilitate and accelerate BCI’s ambitions to generate enhanced performance and greater cost efficiencies for their clients. Centralized trading exemplifies their commitment to achieving these goals, and we are excited to continue solutioning for their needs as they continue to grow.” said Dane Fannin, global head of securities finance at Northern Trust, a leading provider of asset servicing to institutional investors.

Promoting collaboration in what is typically a siloed function at many large institutional asset managers, BCI’s centralized trading framework also shifts the role of the trader from operations to advisor, allowing trading professionals to add significant value to the investment process.

“Joining BCI at a time when the corporation transitioned to active management allowed me to lead a trading team implementing processes and frameworks from scratch. There has long been an established, back, middle and front office approach to trading, coming in to create something new without legacy frameworks to constrain us was very exciting,” said Samir Dhrolia, senior managing director, global derivatives, trading and indexing portfolio management. “The executive management team at BCI empowered us to deliver a world-class solution and we’ve been able to draw top talent from a very competitive market to Victoria to work on this.”

As outlined in our Centralized Trading White Paper, the key benefits of a centralized trading framework include:

• Cross-asset view that enhances portfolio returns, reduces costs and allows for better risk management
• A central voice facilitated via BCI’s One Wallet platform, a relationship management tool that manages a total view of payments across BCI, negotiating with external parties for the best possible results for clients on commissions, deal flows and third-party services. This is increasingly important as BCI’s operations spans the globe with teams in Victoria, Vancouver, New York, and this year, London, UK
• Fosters a performance-focused team, and offers an environment where employees collaborate across the portfolio management, cross asset risk and liquidity functions
• Streamlines processes, effectiveness, and scalability for continued growth
• Optimizes management oversight, and strengthens legal, compliance and operational controls thus reducing a variety of operational and investment risks

Download the Centralized Trading White Paper.

About BCI
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with $211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, offices in Vancouver, New York City, and London, U.K. BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time. This compels us to integrate long-term ESG matters into all investment decisions and activities. BCI’s clients include pension plans representing over 715,000 plan members, insurance funds providing more than three million Autoplan insurance policies annually, benefits coverage to more than two million workers and 225,000 companies, and special purpose funds within B.C.’s public sector. Founded in 1999, BCI is a statutory corporation created by the Public Sector Pension Plans Act. For more information, visit our website BCI.ca or follow us on LinkedIn.

CONTACT
Olga Petrycki
Director, External Stakeholder Engagement
778-410-7310 | media@bci.ca

What is centralized trading? This white paper explores the benefits and drawbacks of centralized trading for institutional investors. We offer decision criteria for asset management firms who are considering or on their way to centralized dealings, to assess their unique circumstances, costs, and other constraints before implementing a centralized framework. We develop best practices to implement centralized dealings, including good governance, regulatory requirements, defining order types and cross-asset best execution, working from home and technology prerequisites. The analysis draws on the existing body of research for trading desk structures, industry trends and best practices, scenario analysis to estimate the benefits net of costs, and case studies from global asset management firms.

Centralized Trading Whitepaper

Victoria, British Columbia – BCI is proud to be named as one of BC’s Top Employers for the fourth consecutive year for offering employee programs that promote a healthy work/life balance.

“It is an honour for BCI to once again be recognized as a top British Columbia employer,” said Norine Hale, BCI’s executive vice president, human resources, “Receiving this award during a period of tremendous workforce and workplace change speaks to the strength of our programs.”

Supporting employee health and wellness with flexible options that empower each to make choices that best suit their needs benefits everyone. As BCI continues to grow its global reach with investments and operations abroad, as well as attracting top talent from around the world, a new remote work program was introduced for opportunities to travel to where families, colleagues, and partners live and work. BCI team members can apply to work remotely from anywhere in the world for a maximum of one month each year.

“Our workplace culture at BCI is designed with the individual in mind, we are more than just employees. Our people-centric culture means we bring our whole selves to work,” said Umar Malik, senior vice president, finance, and chief financial officer. “Our people are our single biggest asset. At BCI you get the opportunity to do challenging and rewarding work for our clients with incredibly smart people. That’s what drew me to the company and what keeps me here.”

BCI’s performance-based culture fosters a healthy balance between professional and personal time. At BCI, the starting annual vacation allowance is four weeks and increases at long service intervals. Additionally, each year employees have six paid personal days for when life happens.

Mediacorp Canada Inc. operate Canada’s Top 100 Employers – the nation’s largest publisher of employment periodicals, reaching over 15 million Canadians each year. The award recipients were announced today in a special feature published in The Vancouver Sun and on the Canada’s Top 100 Employers website.

This is the fourth time that BCI has applied for selection as one of BC’s Top 100 Employers. Applicants are evaluated by the editors using eight criteria^[1] and are compared to other organizations in their field to identify those that lead their industries in offering the most forward-thinking programs and exceptional workplace cultures.

Find out more about our culture and opportunities to work with us at BCI.ca/careers

CONTACT
Olga Petrycki, Director, External Stakeholder Engagement
778-410-7310 | media@bci.ca

Victoria, British Columbia – BCI is proud to be named as one of Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers for the fourth consecutive year, offering employee programs with robust benefits and flexibility, including for working parents.

“I’m incredibly proud BCI has once again be recognized as one of Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers,” said Norine Hale, BCI’s executive vice president, human resources, “At BCI we have tried to develop and evolve programs that are able to meet the needs of our employees. We recognize flexibility is key to enabling our employees to meet both their professional and personal requirements.”

Employee wellness at BCI is a priority, and we are proud to support parents with a comprehensive leave program including, pre-leave meetings to discuss leave options, financial considerations, government and BCI benefits, planning for pension purchase options, and leave entitlement calculations for before and after the parental leave. Meetings help ensure parents can make a well-informed decision on how to best plan the leave for themselves and their family. As the return-to-work date approaches, early communication and planning with employees on parental leave is key to ensure the returning parent has a smooth transition back to the office, including the potential for a phased return to work plan.

Parents receive generous leave top-up payments, 85 per cent of salary for up to 52 weeks for maternity and parental leaves, and 85 per cent of salary for up to 36 weeks for fathers and adoptive parents.

“Employees are instrumental to the success of BCI and our clients. When you support their work/life balance with flexible options that empower each parent to make choices that best suit their needs, and that of their family, everyone benefits,” said Hale.

Mediacorp Canada Inc. operate Canada’s Top 100 Employers – the nation’s largest publisher of employment periodicals, reaching over 15 million Canadians each year. The award recipients were announced today on the Canada’s Top 100 Employers website.

This is the fourth time that BCI has applied for selection as one of Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers. Applicants are evaluated by the editors using eight criteria [1] and are compared to other organizations in their field to identify those that lead their industries in offering the most forward-thinking programs and exceptional workplace cultures.

Find out more about our culture and opportunities to work with us at BCI.ca/careers

CONTACT
Olga Petrycki, Director, External Stakeholder Engagement
778-410-7310 | media@bci.ca

• The infrastructure & renewable resources (I&RR) team names Lea Dubourg-Hrachovec as new managing director and head of London office
• The I&RR London team will focus on new capital investment, asset management, and developing new partnerships in the region

BCI’s infrastructure & renewable resources (I&RR) team is opening an office in London, U.K. The office, BCI’s first outside North America, is an important evolution of BCI and the I&RR strategy and provides a solid foundation to continue to originate and manage investments in the U.K. and European context.

“The London office is a natural extension of our global investment strategy, one that has continued to develop in both scale and sophistication,” said Lincoln Webb, executive vice president & global head, infrastructure & renewable resources at BCI. “Our growing presence in the region, unlocks important access to investment opportunities – allowing us to work closely with local investors, communities, and governments in the development and stewardship of critical infrastructure.”

Dubourg-Hrachovec will join BCI from the Pension Protection Fund where she is head of infrastructure, timberland and farmland. Prior to this role, she held senior positions in infrastructure investing at First State Investments and Whitehelm Capital. A strong relationship manager, Lea brings 15 years of asset management as well as direct investing experience to the role.

“Lea brings a wealth of expertise and experience that will allow us to further drive growth in the region,” added Webb. “We’re very excited to welcome Lea to BCI. Under her strong leadership, the London team will continue to grow and develop our portfolio, deepen local partnerships, and work strategically with our portfolio company management teams.”

About BCI
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver and New York City. BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time.

BCI’s Infrastructure & Renewable Resources program, valued at approximately C$20.2 billion, invests in tangible long-life assets in the Americas, UK, Europe, and Asia Pacific, including a portfolio of direct investments in regulated utilities, energy, telecommunications, transportation, timberlands, and agri-businesses.

National Gas (“the Company”), today becomes the owner & operator of Britain’s gas transmission network with an extensive metering portfolio.

It follows the completion of the sale of a 60% equity stake in National Grid’s Gas Transmission & Metering business. The acquisition, led by Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) (“the Consortium”), was successfully completed after all conditions relating to the sale were met.

National Gas is comprised of two organisations – National Gas Transmission and National Gas Metering. National Gas Transmission will own and operate the UK’s 7,600 km-long National Transmission System (NTS) and continue to ensure the safe, reliable and affordable transportation of gas needed to heat homes, power industry and generate electricity.

As the UK’s largest gas meter asset manager, National Gas Metering, will continue to provide industry-leading maintenance and management services for over 7 million domestic, industrial and commercial gas meters.

The business will invest in innovation to future proof the UK, including by repurposing existing assets working in collaboration with the UK Government and industry partners to deliver a hydrogen “backbone” for Britain. Through connecting industrial clusters around the country and leveraging the UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry for hydrogen production, we will provide a base of infrastructure that will decarbonise power generation and heavy industry, boost domestic energy resilience with hydrogen storage and underpin millions of future green jobs.

The Company will be led by an experienced Management Team and Board, headed by Jon Butterworth who resumes his role as Chief Executive Officer having previously held the position of CEO of National Grid Gas Transmission & Metering. Jon and his team have played a key role in overseeing the development of the NTS into one of the safest and most reliable gas networks in the world with 100% reliability achieved in every year since 2020.

Jon Butterworth, CEO of National Gas, commented: “Today is a truly historic day for the UK’s gas industry and I’m delighted to be part of an organisation that sits at the heart of our energy industry.

Our network plays a fundamental role providing energy security for over 23 million homes and 210,000 businesses across the country, as well as the gas-fired power stations that keep the UK’s lights on by providing nearly 40% of our electricity annually.

We’re so excited by the opportunity to play a leading role in the UK’s decarbonisation journey by seamlessly transitioning the network from natural gas to hydrogen and unlocking the full potential of the UK’s net zero economy in the process”.

Will Price, Head of Utilities in EMEA, at Macquarie Asset Management added: “Accelerating the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy mix is crucial to deliver the UK’s net zero ambitions. Hydrogen and other green gases offer the quickest and cheapest path to decarbonise home heating and key industrial processes, as well as strengthening the UK’s energy system through seasonal energy storage. National Gas has ambitious plans, and we are delighted to be supporting the business in this journey.”

Lincoln Webb, Executive Vice President & Global Head, Infrastructure & Renewable Resources at BCI, commented: “BCI strongly supports National Gas’ innovative decarbonisation strategy, which involves transitioning away from fossil fuels while still offering a secure, safe, and reliable network at least cost to consumers. Our investment in National Gas is a testament to our support of the UK’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Enquiries

Media
Andrew Marsh +44 (0) 7583 102 727
Ntobeko Chidavaenzi +44 (0) 7977 054 575

About Us

National Gas comprises two businesses, National Gas Transmission and National Gas Metering.

As both the transmission owner and system operator, National Gas Transmission owns, builds and operates the high-pressure NTS with day-to-day responsibility for balancing supply and demand in real time and facilitates the connection of assets to the transmission system. The NTS comprises approximately 7,660 kilometres of high-pressure pipe and 23 compressor stations connecting to 8 distribution networks and other third-party independent systems.

National Gas also owns and operates an independent metering business, the largest owner of traditional gas meters in the UK with approximately 7 million domestic and commercial meters. The business’ activities cover asset procurement and logistics management, meter installation, maintenance, exchange and removal and customer service provision.

About Macquarie Asset Management

Macquarie Asset Management is a global asset manager that aims to deliver positive impact for everyone. Trusted by institutions, pension funds, governments, and individuals to manage approximately £456 billion in assets globally, we provide access to specialist investment expertise across a range of capabilities including infrastructure, green investments, real estate, agriculture & natural assets, asset finance, private credit, equities, fixed income and multi asset solutions.

Macquarie Asset Management is part of Macquarie Group, a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management, finance, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity, and commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie Group employs more than 19,000 people in 33 markets and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

All figures as of 30 September 2022. For more information, please visit Macquarie.com

About BCI
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver and New York City. BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time.

BCI’s infrastructure & renewable resources program, valued at approximately C$20.2 billion, invests in tangible long-life assets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, including a portfolio of direct investments in regulated utilities, energy, telecommunications, transportation, timberlands, and agri-businesses.

For more information, please visit bci.ca.

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) has entered into an agreement with Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group (GIG) to acquire an interest in GIG’s global battery storage platform. The transaction is anticipated to close in the second quarter of 2023, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The platform, Eku Energy, was launched to develop, build, and operate a global portfolio of utility-scale battery storage projects. Eku Energy has 190MWh of projects with a pipeline of over 3 GWh^[1] across the UK, Australia, Japan, and Europe^[2]. Eku Energy’s projects will provide vital grid services in key global markets.

Battery storage is an essential enabler of the energy transition as it captures and stores excess clean energy produced during times of oversupply and delivers energy when there is a shortage or increased demand. Eku Energy will also provide additional services which help manage and balance electricity grids, enabling more renewable energy capacity to connect to the grid and support the decarbonization of economies, while helping secure supply.

“We look forward to working with Eku’s management and staff in the ongoing development and expansion of the company,” said Lincoln Webb, executive vice president & global head, infrastructure & renewable resources. “As countries worldwide facilitate the integration of clean energy to meet energy transition objectives, large-scale battery storage platforms like Eku are poised for strong growth, resulting in attractive investment opportunities.”

Chris Morrison, interim CEO of Eku Energy, said: “We are delighted to receive the backing of BCI. BCI’s investment recognises the quality of our team and platform, as well as the size of the opportunity for battery storage technology as the shift to clean energy accelerates. We look forward to working with teams from Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group and BCI as we develop our global pipeline of opportunities in battery storage and establish Eku Energy as a leading contributor to the energy transition.”

About BCI

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver and New York City, BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time.

BCI’s infrastructure & renewable resources program (I&RR), valued at approximately C$20.2 billion, invests in tangible long-life assets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, including a portfolio of direct investments in regulated utilities, energy, telecommunications, transportation, timberlands, and agri-businesses.

About Eku Energy

Eku Energy is a globally diversified and technology enabled energy storage business.

We develop, build, and manage energy storage assets that facilitate the delivery of reliable, clean energy and advance the energy transition. Our global portfolio of 3 GWh of digitally enabled, flexible, utility-scale storage projects will provide vital grid services in key markets around the world.

Established by Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, Eku Energy’s purpose-built team brings together specialist technical capabilities, with experience across origination, development, system design, power markets and software optimisation. By combining technical, digital and financial innovation with a local partnership approach and data driven understanding of markets, we develop sophisticated revenue contracting strategies that maximise the benefits of energy storage systems in any given location.

By: Kirk Falconer
PUBLISHED: 11 January, 2023

After planting a flag in NYC, BCI private equity sets its sights on Europe

US and European bases of operation will “give us runway to continue doing what we’ve been doing,” PE chief Jim Pittman told Buyouts, including “growing our book of directs.”

As many investors brace for more volatility in 2023, British Columbia Investment Management Corp’s private equity group is preparing for global expansion. The C$211 billion ($157 billion) BCI took a big step in this direction last year, opening an office in New York City, the pension system’s first outside of Canada. A priority this year will be to beef up that office’s team, Jim Pittman, global head of private equity, told Buyouts.

“The US will in 2023 be a much more active market,” he said. “There are already some green shoots that we can see. With the New York location, we get closer to the action.” BCI is thinking similarly about its next move “onwards to Europe,” Pittman said. The plan is to set up shop in London by the end of 2023. A staff of a dozen will be hired to run the office, which, together with fresh recruits in New York and the Victoria headquarters, will up the PE group’s size to 65 professionals. US and European bases of operation will “give us runway to continue doing what we’ve been doing,” Pittman said. “That means growing our book of directs and finding more strategic partners along the way.”

BCI’s global initiative follows a spell of prodigious PE growth, culminating in 2021’s C$6.8 billion deployed in the market, a record amount. In addition, the portfolio performed strongly, earning a one-year net return of 29.6 percent and a five-year return of 21.5 percent.

Boost in directs

A major contributing factor to these results was a sharp pivot toward direct investing. In 2016, a decision was made to allocate a larger portion of capital to co-sponsorships and co-investments. Pittman, who joined BCI that year, and CEO Gordon Fyfe agreed that a boost in directs, combined with enhanced in-house resources, was key to accelerating a then slow-growth exposure to private markets.

Pittman moved quickly, doubling his team within months of taking the job. Just as quickly, BCI began doing more direct deals: the first, the 2016 acquisition with ATL Partners of Pilot Freight Services, a transportation and logistics provider. Others soon followed, such as the 2018 acquisition with PAI Partners of beverages bottler Refresco. Both portfolio companies were sold last year. Pilot went to Maersk for $1.7 billion, while Refresco was snapped up by KKR, reportedly for $7.5 billion-plus. The first sale generated a multiple of more than 3.5x, and the second, over 3x, sources told Buyouts. Pittman declined to comment.

Thanks to the ramp-up in directs, their share of PE portfolio assets grew to 39 percent from 21 percent over 2016-21. This, along with increased fund commitments, pushed total assets to C$24.8 billion in 2021 from $7.3 billion six years earlier, doubling private equity’s share of all BCI assets to 11.8 percent.

Investing in dislocation

BCI’s PE strategy targets mostly buyout and growth equity opportunities in North America and Europe. Sectors of interest are business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, industrials, and technology, media and telecommunications, around which the in-house team is organized.

This focus aligns with fund preferences, which are of two types: high-performance GPs and GPs who are solid performers but also need capital as well as deal partners. Alongside the second type, BCI seeks to build its directs book, usually taking ownership stakes in companies of 30 percent to 50 percent.

“We want governance over the assets we’re buying,” Pittman said, for the purposes of driving returns and implementing ESG criteria.

Sponsors who are deal partners account for 70 percent of fund commitments. Working with them and other like-minded investors, BCI was a vigorous dealmaker in 2022, the influence of economic uncertainty notwithstanding.

New transactions included a $1 billion investment in Advent International’s take-private acquisition of Maxar Technologies, a space technology provider. Announced in December, the deal had a $6.4 billion value. Earlier in the year, BCI agreed to buy a minority interest in Authority Brands, a home services franchisor majority owned by Apax Partners. It also invested in Zedra, a corporate, fund and wealth solutions specialist owned by Corsair.

Pittman expects BCI to be just as active in 2023. In a market characterized by “more volatility and more risk,” not to mention the prospect of a recession, the aim is to “take advantage of dislocation” and an eventual “pick-up in deal levels,” he said. A priority will be “investing in portfolio companies that need liquidity.”

Flush with cash

BCI’s PE group is well-positioned for forthcoming opportunities because, unlike many peers, it is flush with cash. This “prized possession,” Pittman said, owes to selling assets when “markets were on fire.”

Since 2017, C$4.2 billion of fund stakes “no longer core to the strategy” were sold in secondaries deals, he said. The third and biggest of these closed in 2021, helping to lift combined distribution flows to C$8.5 billion.

BCI’s private equity target, which is 15 percent of assets, affords further room to maneuver. To meet the target and reach up to C$35 billion of portfolio assets over the next few years, the plan is to split investing more-or-less evenly between directs and funds.

Arriving at a 50:50 directs-funds ratio is “not an absolute, hard goal, but an aspirational goal,” Pittman said. What is more important is for the strategy “to stay on track.”

“We’ve been diligent in pacing and selling our investments and we have C$2.5 billion in highly flexible capital to deploy this coming year, in an environment where money is no longer cheap,” he said. “We’re optimistic that we can achieve risk-adjusted returns in this market.”

Before joining BCI, Pittman worked for more than a decade as a managing director, private equity, at Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

Republished with permission. Read the original article on Buyouts

BMS Group, the high growth independent specialty insurance and reinsurance broker, announces that a definitive agreement has been entered into with Eurazeo for an additional investment in the business. Existing shareholders British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), Preservation Capital Partners (PCP), management and staff will continue to be invested in the business. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

In the period 2019 to 2022, revenues at BMS have increased from c.£100m to more than £250m. BMS has made eight acquisitions over the past three years, the most recent being Eisenar in Spain. Staff numbers have risen by over 70% to c.900 people across specialty and reinsurance disciplines. BMS has also recently strengthened the leadership team including Nick Gillett (CEO, Int.), Eliot Powell, (Group CCO), Louisa Erwin (Group Head, DEI), Ian Matheson, (Chair, Canada), Chris McDowell, (CEO, Bermuda), Ted Hodgkinson, (Chair, Asia).

Operating across 14 countries, with 28 offices this additional investment announced today will enable an acceleration in BMS’ pace of growth across its core trading divisions as well as focused investment to continue to deliver exceptional results for clients.

BMS’ management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Nick Cook, will all remain in their roles following completion of the transaction, and management and staff of BMS will remain significant shareholders in the company.

Cook said: “At a time when the macro-economic environment is causing headwinds for some, this investment is testament to the extraordinary growth and expansion we have delivered for several years and the confidence we have in our strategy to expand as a global independent specialty insurance and reinsurance broker. BMS has attracted immense attention over the past few months from global investors as we looked to position the business for an exciting future. The global reach of Eurazeo will undoubtedly help us in our ongoing expansion alongside the continue support of BCI and PCP. I am delighted to welcome Eurazeo, a prestigious listed global partner.

“Our culture and our dedication to recruiting and nurturing the very best people in the market is unique and steadfast. We are a home for top-flight, talented people with expertise, innovation, and who have entrepreneurialism at their heart. This ethos is a clear differentiator for our clients and runs to the core of everything we do.

“With our track record of organic double-digit growth, this investment, at a market leading valuation, has created the opportunity to scale this business with increased vigour and confidence. We have countless opportunities ahead of us in our specialty and reinsurance divisions. We now have three long-term capital partners who back BMS’ strategy and vision and, crucially, its continued independence.

“Our partners and our leadership team are committed to investment in our business and people to provide a market leading client service reinforced by data, digital and analytics. This is an exciting time for BMS, and I am grateful to all my colleagues at BMS who have driven our group success over the past few years. I could not be prouder of the achievements of the whole team.”

Maxime de Bentzmann, Managing Director, Eurazeo – Mid-large Buyout, commented: ”We have been exploring specialty insurance and reinsurance markets for some time and are delighted to have found, in BMS, another perfect opportunity to partner with a successful, global business with numerous transformation levers. Their shining record over recent years, under the leadership of Nick Cook and his management team, is one we admire, and we are genuinely excited to join forces to support their future success.”

“As a long-term investor, BCI is pleased to continue our significant investment in BMS, a market-leading company with a demonstrated track record of strong growth,” said Dave Hong, Senior Managing Director, Private Equity at BCI. “We are excited to partner with BMS management, Eurazeo, and PCP in the next phase of this journey, and to continue creating value for our pension plan and insurance fund clients.”

Jatender Aujla, Managing Partner, PCP, commented: “We are excited to welcome Eurazeo as a long term shareholder in BMS alongside PCP and BCI. BMS is one of the largest investments PCP have made to date and, thanks to Nick Cook and his superb team, it has been a phenomenal investment to date with revenue and EBITDA tripling, resulting in a 3.5x uplift in valuation since our investment in 2019. As a long term investor we remain committed to helping the team continue their ambitious growth strategy.”

BMS were advised by Evercore, BMS Capital Advisory and Macfarlanes LLP.

For further information please contact:

BMS

Haggie Partners

Peter Rigby, Ben Abbotts, Olivia Fatkin-Kane

Tel: + 44 20 7562 4444

bms@haggie.co.uk

BCI

Olga Petrycki

Director, External Stakeholder Engagement

Tel: +1 778-410-7310

media@bci.ca

About BMS Group

BMS Group is a leading independent specialist (re)insurance broker. For 40 years, BMS has provided comprehensive, customised solutions in the fields of wholesale, reinsurance and direct insurance, and capital advisory through our teams of experts. Today, this experience and expertise, served with a spirit of creativity, allows BMS to offer a full range of integrated services. Designing individual, tailored solutions makes BMS the risk and capital management advisor clients want to work with time and again.

For more information about BMS please visit www.bmsgroup.com

About Eurazeo

Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €32.4 billion in assets under management, including nearly €23.2 billion from third parties, invested in 530 companies. With its considerable private equity, private debt as well as real estate and infrastructure asset expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 400 professionals and by offering deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.

Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Milan, Madrid, Luxembourg, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore and Sao Paulo.

Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.

ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

About BCI

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver and New York City, BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time.

BCI’s private equity program actively manages a C$24.8 billion global portfolio of privately held companies and funds with long-term growth potential. Leveraging our sector-focused teams in business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, industrials, and technology, media and telecommunications, we work with strategic private equity partners to source and manage direct and co-sponsor/co-investment opportunities.

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About Preservation Capital Partners

Preservation Capital Partners (PCP) is a London based specialist private equity firm focused on investing in high growth financial technology and services business across Europe. PCP was founded in 2017 and manages c.$1Bn of assets under management. PCP also have investments in Optio, Parmenion, Saltus and HBC.

For more information, please visit www.preservationcp.com