OMERS to launch US$750m venture fund to back tech companies

[TORONTO] The Ontario Municipal Employment Retirement System is launching a venture capital fund to back early-stage technology companies in North America and Europe.

The US$750 million fund is OMERS' first transatlantic venture vehicle, the Globe and Mail reported. OMERS is set to announce two investments in Canadian startups in the coming weeks. It would be the first new venture capital investments the fund has made in the country in nearly two years, according to the report.

The Toronto-based pension fund manager, which has about C$109 billion (S$109.8 billion) in assets, didn't return messages seeking comment.

OMERS expects to make investments of US$5-million to US$25-million in individual companies, focusing on firms bringing innovations to insurance, banking, health care and property sectors, as well as workplace technology providers.

About one-quarter of the fund will be invested in Canada, 40 per cent in Europe and the balance in the US. The fund is being solely funded by the pension fund.

BLOOMBERG