Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan

Company type	Private
Industry	Pension fund
Founded	January 1, 1960;66 years ago (1960-01-01)
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario , Canada
Total assets	C$112.6 billion (2023)
Number of employees	1,000 (2023)
Website	hoopp.com

The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) is a Canadian institutional investor that manages a multi-employer defined pension plan for healthcare workers in Ontario. ^{[1] [2]} It manages pension investments on behalf of its 460,000 members and 670 participating employers. ^[3] HOOPP invests in a variety of asset classes, including fixed income, public equities, credit, private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. ^{[4] [5]}

As of December 2023, HOOPP's net assets reached C$112.6 billion, ^[6] making it one of Canada's largest pensions by assets under management. ^{[7] [8]} HOOPP is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but also operates an office in London, United Kingdom. ^[9]

HOOPP is one of Canada's top eight pension funds, nicknamed the "Maple 8" or "Maple Revolutionaries."

History

HOOPP was founded in 1960 by the Ontario Hospital Association with the participation of 71 hospitals as the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan. ^[10] It was originally founded to provide a defined benefit pension plan to hospitals and its workers.

In 1993, HOOPP became an independent trust, which is its current organizational structure.

In 2010, HOOPP's name was changed into the present form, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. ^[11]

Starting in 2025, HOOPP plans to allow self-employed Ontario-based doctors to participate in the fund. ^{[12] [13]}

Organization

HOOPP is a private non-for-profit trust fund, governed by a board of trustees composed of sixteen voting members. Eight trustees are selected from the Ontario Hospital Association. The remaining eight are appointed by the Ontario Nurses' Association, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Ontario Public Service Employees Union, and SEIU Healthcare. These trustees oversee the administration of the HOOPP plan and the management of the assets. ^[14]

Strategy

HOOPP uses a liability driven investing approach that includes a large allocation to bonds. ^[15] However, HOOPP plans to expand private equity and infrastructure allocations in the future. ^[16]

HOOPP also diversifies its investments across a wide range of geographies. 45% of its investments are made outside of Canada, with major investments in the United States, Europe, Asia–Pacific regions. ^[17]

In 2025, a tax court in the Netherlands found that the pension fund had wrongly claimed €213.5 million in tax refunds attributable to 445 separate transactions from 2013 to 2018, and was thus obligated to repay that amount plus interest. ^[18] The judgment upheld the conclusion of the tax authorities, who had determined that HOOPP's dividend stripping arrangements to buy and resell shares from and to the same client meant that it was not the beneficial owner of the securities, and thus not entitled to the refund of the 15% tax on dividend distributions normally enjoyed by foreign pension funds under Netherlands law. ^[18] HOOPP expressed its intention to appeal. ^[18] The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service and the fiscal regulator (FIOD) had also launched a criminal investigation into the matter. ^{[18] [19]}

Significant transactions

In 2018, Chobani announced that HOOPP would be acquiring TPG Capital's minority equity stake in the company, giving HOOPP a 20% equity stake. Terms of the transaction are unknown, however, the stake was originally acquired by TPG for $750 million. ^{[20] [21]}

In 2019, HOOPP acquired a minority stake in Herschel Supply Co. for an undisclosed amount. ^[22]

In 2022, HOOPP and AustralianSuper acquired a 45% stake in Greencross from TPG Capital, valuing the company at $3.5 billion. ^[23]

See also

• CPP Investments
• Public Sector Pension Investment Board
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
• OMERS

References

1. Fleguel, Jordan (2024-11-29). "Businesses looking to increase productivity should invest in their employees: HOOPP". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
2. "Home". Default. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
3. "Ontario physicians will be eligible to join the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan in 2025". Morningstar, Inc. 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
4. "Canada's HOOPP sees a lot to like in 2 alts asset classes". Pensions & Investments. 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
5. "Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) - Top1000funds.com" . Retrieved 2024-12-13.
6. "HOOPP delivers 9.38% return in 2023". Default. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
7. "Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute - SWFI". www.swfinstitute.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
8. Campbell, Kyle (2024-06-30). "Deep Dive: Canada's Maple 8 hit an inflection point". PERE. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
9. "HOOPP sets up London office for global reach". www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
10. "Ontario Hospital Association Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)". www.oha.com. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
11. "Annual Results". Default. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
12. "HOOPP plans to allow self-employed Ontario doctors to join pension plan for the first time", The Globe and Mail website, 2024-12-10, retrieved 2024-12-13
13. Staff. "HOOPP opens pension plan to self-employed Ontario doctors for first time". Canadian Healthcare Network. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
14. "Board of Trustees". Default. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
15. "Liability driven investing 2.0: How HOOPP is evolving its investment strategy - Top1000funds.com". 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
16. "Canada's HOOPP sees a lot to like in 2 alts asset classes". Pensions & Investments. 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
17. "Investment Strategy". Default. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
18. Bradshaw, James (2026-01-09), "Dutch tax court rules Ontario pension plan wrongly claimed $346-million in tax refunds", The Globe and Mail website, archived from the original on 2026-01-09, retrieved 2026-01-09
19. Bradshaw, James (2025-10-10), "Dutch prosecutors to question HOOPP on suspicions of evading tax on €200-million of dividend income", The Globe and Mail website, archived from the original on 2025-10-17, retrieved 2026-01-09
20. Falconer, Kirk (2022-03-16). "HOOPP private equity, under new leadership, earns strong return in 2021". Buyouts. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
21. "Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Becomes Invests in Chobani". Wall Street Journal. 2018-06-29. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2024-12-13.
22. Kreutzer, Laura (2019-10-31). "Herschel Supply Turns to Private Equity as Backpack Brand Branches Out". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2024-12-13.
23. "TPG sells 45 per cent Greencross stake to pension funds in $3.5b deal". Australian Financial Review. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2024-12-13.