Stephen Harper appointed to oversee Alberta's $160B AIMCo fund

Former prime minister Stephen Harper is the new chairman of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, or AIMCo, which oversees more than $160 billion in funds, including pension funds and the Heritage Savings Trust Fund.

The move comes almost two weeks after the province’s finance minister fired the Crown agency’s entire board, along with a number of executives, citing ballooning costs and substandard returns.

Premier Danielle Smith said Wednesday in a statement that the appointment of Harper and other board members is a step toward the long-term success of AIMCo.

“Our ambitious goal of building the Heritage Savings Trust Fund to more than $250 billion in the next 25 years requires strong governance oversight, which he will provide,” she said.

The province’s nest egg fund is currently valued at $23 billion.

Harper, the Conservative prime minister from 2006 to 2015, said in a statement he would do the work without being paid.

“I believe it is a meaningful act of public service to my adopted home province of the last 46 years,” Harper said.

Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters in the legislature Wednesday that Harper is the right choice to deliver returns and drive down costs.

“Albertans should be grateful and thankful that he would consider doing this. I’m actually surprised that he would – a person of his stature,” said Horner.

AIMCo, in its latest annual report, said it had $161 billion of assets under management as of the end of last year, with 600 employees spread across offices in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Luxembourg, Singapore and London, U.K.

It handles about $118 billion in investments for public sector pension plans representing thousands of Albertans, including teachers, police officers and municipal workers.

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The shakeup at AIMCo has sparked renewed concerns about the politicization of pension policy in Alberta, and comes after a public push by Smith’s United Conservative Party to pull the province out of the Canada Pension Plan.

The province says no decision has been made on leaving the CPP.

But AIMCo has been floated as a potential manager of whatever money the province might be able to negotiate in such an exit. A report commissioned by the provincial government estimated Alberta would be entitled to more than half of the CPP fund’s assets — or $334 billion.

Horner said Harper’s past advocacy for an Alberta Pension Plan had no bearing on the appointment.

When asked by a reporter if it’s a signal the Heritage Savings Trust Fund will be directed into de-risking investments or projects in Alberta, Horner was dismissive.

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“You would never want to preclude investments from happening in Alberta … but that isn’t the goal,” he said.

AIMCo’s mandate says it operates at arm’s length from the government, although there is co-operation and collaboration between the two.

In addition to Harper, the government said it’s putting the deputy finance minister – the top civil servant in the ministry — on the AIMCo board, also without pay, to ensure consistent communication between the agency and the government.

Alberta NDP finance critic Court Ellingson said Albertans don’t want politicians managing their assets.

“This move sends a horrific message to Albertans and investors that even organizations with immense fiduciary responsibilities are not immune to political interference from the UCP,” said Ellingson.

Horner said Harper’s appointment didn’t need specific clearance from the ethics commissioner, and there are conflict of interest and code of ethics rules for members of the board.

Among other roles, Harper is listed as a “working equity partner” for private equity firm Azimuth Capital Management.

Horner said that’s not uncommon. “That’s why the rules are in place.”

Three of the fired board members — Bob Dhillon, Jason Montemurro, and Jim Keohane — were reappointed.

The finance minister did not provide an estimated timeline for when other members of the board might be installed.

When asked about the leaders of Alberta’s nine largest unions demanding seats on the board to have a say in how members’ money is managed, Horner noted that they have seats on their own pension boards.

He said he’s not considering changing the law so that the unions could leave AIMCo and choose another pension manager.