Ontario Teachers’ pension plan posts 9.5% return, boosted by $8.7 billion SpaceX stake

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board reported a net return of 9.5 per cent for the first half of 2026, partly thanks to its seven-year stake in spaceflight and artificial intelligence company SpaceX.

Teachers’ posted a net investment income of $26.6 billion for the first six months of the year, with net assets totalling $303.2 billion at June 30, up $23.8 billion from the end of 2025. The pension plan’s one-year net return was 14.5 per cent.

“We delivered a strong start to 2026, with a total-fund net return that is ahead of our target at this point in the year,” said Jo Taylor, chief executive at the pension fund in a statement. “These results were broad based with positive returns across asset classes, with the most significant contributions coming from venture growth, public equities and inflation-sensitive assets.”

The pension fund’s investment in SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., was a “significant contributor” to its mid-year return, according to a Teachers’ press release.

SpaceX debuted with a never-before-seen US$75 billion initial public offering in June, raising about US$1.7 trillion at the time, though the stock has plunged by nearly 50 per cent since its post-IPO highs. The space company now has a market capitalization of about US$1.8 trillion.

However, Teachers’ reportedly invested about $300 million in SpaceX, its first investment for its venture growth arm in 2019 before the artificial intelligence boom, when the company was valued at just about US$33.3 billion. By June 30, its stake was worth approximately US$8.7 billion, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Venture companies now make up about nine per cent of Teachers’ asset mix, compared with six per cent in December. Public equity comprises about 21 per cent, up from 18 per cent at the end of last year, while private equity accounts for about 16 per cent, down from 19 per cent, according to Teachers’ mid-year results. In 2025, Teachers’ posted a negative return in its private equity portfolio.

The total annualized 10-year return for the Teachers’ fund, which manages investments for 346,000 working members and pensioners, is 7.8 per cent, with a 9.4 per cent return since inception.

The Toronto-based pension plan noted other major investments during the first half of 2026, including its acquisition of four multifamily residential assets in southern Germany alongside DW Effectum Residential, its establishment of a new real estate joint venture with Equus Capital Partners and financing of U.K. energy tech platform Kraken Technologies Ltd.’s spinout from Octopus Energy Group.