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How the Caisse's loss stacks up

The eye-popping loss reported Wednesday by the Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec is the latest by a big Canadian pension fund, reflecting the financial markets' rough ride in 2008.

The eye-popping loss reported Wednesday bythe Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec is the latest by abig Canadian pension fund,reflectingthe financial markets' rough ride in 2008.

Here are the numbers from the Caisse and some other large funds:

Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec
Assets (Dec. 31, 2008) $120.1 billion
Drop in assets (from Dec. 31, 2007) $39.8 billion
Weighted average return on depositors' funds 25%

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
Assets (Dec. 31, 2008) $43.5 billion

Drop in assets (from Dec. 31, 2007)

$8 billion
Investment return 15.3%
Canada Pension PlanFund
Assets (Dec. 31, 2008) $108.9 billion
Drop in assets (from Sept. 30, 2008) $8.5 billion
Investment return 6.7%(Q3 only)

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, another giant investment fund, is due to release its 2008 financial report on April 2.

By way of comparison to the loses suffered by the pension funds, the S&P/TSX composite index lost about 35 per cent in 2008.