ICPM was founded in 2004 by Keith Ambachtsheer after he recognized a need for pension funds from around the world to have a safe space to exchange ideas on pension design, governance and investing, as well as keep up with new academic research findings. What started as a small centre within the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, grew to become a separate non-profit association in 2015 that still maintains strong ties to the school.

Today, ICPM is a network of 53 of the largest and most sophisticated funds from around the world, spanning Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States.

“We have a unique community feel at ICPM where senior leaders of the most sophisticated pension funds in the world are surprisingly at ease to openly and candidly share ideas, innovations and challenges in a trusted space,” says Michelle Ostermann, ICPM Board Chair and CEO of Pension Protection Fund in the UK. “I always leave ICPM events invigorated from learning about various approaches to complex problems, and I’m inspired to bring very practical ideas back to the office.”

In addition to two flagship Discussion Forums per year, ICPM has built a robust calendar of virtual events such as Round Tables and Feedback Sessions to connect peers from around the world throughout the year, with topics spanning pension communications, economies of scale, ESG, operations, geopolitical risk, and more. A growing suite of education offerings for boards and senior management now comprises specialty topics of Cybersecurity Risk Oversight and Building Trust with Members and Stakeholders to complement the well-reputed Pension Governance Education Program that has been established since 2011.

ICPM’s research roots run deep in the academic community with an annually anticipated Research Award to recognize top papers of relevance to the pension industry, as well as Working Groups to leverage the community of pension funds to dive deeper into specific topics. Most recently, the network collaborated to produce an insightful whitepaper on The Four Ways Through Which Pension Funds Increase the Productivity of Firms They Invest In.

ICPM looks forward to celebrating its anniversary with the network at the upcoming October Discussion Forum in Toronto (Oct 6-8), which will provide an opportunity to reflect on the next 20 years’ outlook for pension organizations.

“Pension funds must deal with the climate transition, the global diversity loss, the AI revolution and the rise of longevity while managing the increasingly volatile policy and geopolitical environments,” says Sebastien Betermier, ICPM Executive Director. “A lot is at stake, so it is essential for pension leaders to have communities like ICPM where they can learn from one another and the latest research in order to successfully steer pensions in the decades ahead.”