HOOPP has been providing pensions to healthcare workers across Ontario for over half a century. While it may seem natural to look at HOOPP as an investment management organization, the fact is that HOOPP is different. We are a pension delivery organization, and our job is to provide all HOOPP members with a secure retirement income for life.

What does it mean to be a pension delivery organization?

A pension delivery organization, like HOOPP, is focused on its pension promise to members. So, what is that promise? Simply put, it is to provide all members with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their pension will be there for them, whenever they are ready to retire and for the rest of their life. Everything we do supports this commitment to our members.

There are four main things that differentiate a pension delivery organization, like HOOPP, from an investment management organization:

• Long-term investment horizon
  When you invest with an investment management organization, you may look at performance results through a short-term lens: you can see the immediate impact of an annual return on your portfolio. Your HOOPP pension, on the other hand, is based on a formula that considers your earnings and years of service; your pension is not based on annual returns.
  
  HOOPP invests in terms of decades, not single years. We measure success through our funded status, which denotes our ability to pay pensions now and in the future, and is one of the most important indicators of a pension plan’s health. HOOPP has had a positive funded status since 2009.


• Working as one to manage one Fund
  Most investment management organizations manage many funds individually. At HOOPP, we manage one Fund and the investment teams work together to find the best investment opportunities. This total portfolio investment approach is used to guide the asset allocation of the Fund to help us deliver on our pension promise.


• Focusing on assets and liabilities
  Most investment management organizations are focused on growth. To help fulfill our pension promise, HOOPP focuses on Plan assets in relation to liabilities (i.e., what the Plan owes in pensions now and in the future). We use a Liability Driven Investing (LDI) approach that focuses on making sure that the long-term growth of our investment portfolio meets or exceeds the growth in our pension obligations to members. This approach has been very successful for HOOPP and our members.


• Solely committed to our members
  Investment management organizations often need to meet the expectations of their shareholders so there is a strong focus on profits and hitting quarterly earnings targets. At HOOPP, our commitment is clear: we are solely focused on our fiduciary responsibility to members. We are passionate about delivering a secure, lifetime pension to our members; it’s what motivates us and guides all aspects of what we do.

HOOPP has been a leading pension delivery organization for a very long time. Our unwavering commitment to delivering on our pension promise helps us stay focused on what matters most to our members. We will continue to work together and make decisions that will help keep the Plan strong and pensions secure now and for decades to come.