How the plan decides where to invest

Investing for such a large plan is complex. Policies help the Teachers' Pension Board of Trustees decide how and where to invest.

1. Investment beliefs

3. Measurement

2. Investment policies

Investment policies

The plan’s investments are managed by British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI). The board provides BCI with the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures, a set of policies to guide investment decisions.

These policies set investment guidelines and direction for BCI, including:

The many different types of assets in which the plan can invest (known as asset classes)
How much to invest in each asset class to balance potential return and investment risk
The benchmarks used to measure success

The plan’s choice of how much to allocate to each type of asset is called the strategic asset mix. Generally in investment management, the strategic asset mix is considered to have the most impact on the investment outcomes. Because of that, the board spends a significant amount of time on issues related to the strategic asset mix.

The board thoroughly reviews the plan’s asset mix at least every three years. The analysis can involve economic scenarios and a review of the types of investment risk assumed by the plan.