Alberta government fires AIMCo board citing rising costs, poor performance

Alberta’s finance minister has sacked the board of directors of AIMCo (the Alberta Investment Management Corporation), the body that manages more than $160 billion in pension, endowment and government funds for the province.

Nate Horner, in a statement, said the reason is poor performance, with rising staffing and management fees coupled with a consistent failure to meet mandated benchmark returns.

The most recent CEO as of 2021, Evan Siddall, has been removed from AIMCo’s leadership section of its website.

Horner said the decision takes effect immediately and he will be sole director and chair for AIMCo until a new chair is appointed within 30 days, with a new board established after that.

Horner says it’s time to reset the investment corporation’s focus.

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The province said that from 2019 to 2023, AIMCo’s third-party management fees have increased by 96 per cent, the number of employees increased by 29 per cent and salary wage and benefit costs increased by 71 per cent.

These costs all increased, it said, while AIMCo managed a smaller percentage of funds internally.

AIMCo, with $161 billion of assets under management as of the end of last year — has approximately 600 employees spread across offices in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Luxembourg and London, U.K.

“AIMCo’s work has direct consequences for Albertans,” Horner said in a statement Thursday.

“While they have achieved returns for their clients, we are acting to bring a renewed focus on the best possible returns and low operating costs.”

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