Most people don't get to own a piece of SpaceX. But you might already own a slice of it through your pension.
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of Canada's biggest retirement funds, just proved how much that stake matters.
That stake was a significant contributor to the strong first-half performance, according to the pension plan.
CEO Jo Taylor said Monday that venture-growth investments, listed stocks, and inflation-sensitive assets all contributed to the gains. Total net assets hit C$303.2 billion, which is $217.5 billion in U.S. dollars.
SpaceX has been a wild ride lately. The company staged the biggest IPO ever in June and ended its first trading day worth roughly $2.2 trillion. But the stock has cooled off since then, dropping from a June closing peak of $201.80 to $133.11 by Friday.
Ontario Teachers' first got into SpaceX back in 2019, making it the fund's first venture-growth investment. On June 30, the fund held about 50.7 million SpaceX shares, roughly 0.7% of the company.
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That early bet shows what happens when a pension fund takes a chance on something new. Venture-growth assets now represent 9% of the portfolio, a rise from the 6% level recorded at year-end.
As one of the largest pension plans in the country, with assets exceeding C$300 billion, Ontario Teachers' allocation decisions are closely watched by institutional investors worldwide. Its willingness to embrace venture-growth holdings marks a notable departure from the conservative strategies that once defined the sector.
Not every part of the portfolio is firing on all cylinders. Private equity, which means owning companies that aren't publicly traded, has been a sore spot.
Private equity now makes up 16% of the total portfolio, three percentage points below where it stood at year-end. Meanwhile, public stocks have grown to 21% of holdings, compared with 18% before.
The buyout sector has broadly weakened since the Federal Reserve started hiking interest rates in 2022. Higher borrowing costs have slowed dealmaking and reduced the cash that flows back to fund investors.
According to Gillian Brown, who leads public and private investments as CIO, the private-equity strategy is still adapting to the current environment. Taylor added that operational improvements at companies don't always lead to higher valuations, and the fund is still trying to stay ahead of the problems that prompted its adjustments.
The shift reflects a broader trend among large institutional investors. With interest rates higher and dealmaking slower, many pension funds have been reducing their exposure to traditional buyout funds. Instead, they are looking for opportunities in venture-growth companies that can offer outsized returns, even if they come with more risk. Ontario Teachers' has been a pioneer in this space, making its first venture-growth investment in 2019 with SpaceX.
The fund isn't sitting still. It has also invested in Anthropic PBC and Databricks Inc., two big names in artificial intelligence. In June, the pension plan served as a lead backer in a $750 million capital raise for fintech Ramp.
Taylor said these AI investments show the venture-growth unit is comfortable "taking slightly more risk, looking for better returns." That's a notable shift for a pension fund, which typically plays it safe because retirees depend on steady growth.
The bottom line: Pension funds like Ontario Teachers' move slowly, but they move with purpose. When one of the world's largest retirement plans shifts billions into venture bets and away from private equity, it's a signal about where they see the best opportunities and where they see trouble.
Your own portfolio probably won't include SpaceX shares anytime soon. But watching where big institutional money flows can tell you a lot about which corners of the market look promising, and which ones might need more time to recover.
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