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University of Windsor Employees' Retirement Plan
Founded in 1955 alongside the university's post-war expansion, the plan covers active and retired employees of the University of Windsor. The plan sponsor is...
University of Windsor Employees' Retirement Plan
Founded in 1955 alongside the university's post-war expansion, the plan covers active and retired employees of the University of Windsor. The plan sponsor is the university itself, with the University of Windsor Faculty Association (WUFA) and the University of Windsor Retirees' Association (WURA) serving as formal partners in pension governance and oversight. The plan does not make direct investments. It deploys capital into pooled funds managed by third-party asset managers, covering public equities, fixed income, and alternatives. Its assets are held within the University of Windsor Master Trust Fund, the pooled investment vehicle that serves several university-affiliated endowments and trusts. The retirement plan became a signatory to the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2020 and holds institutional membership in Canada's Responsible Investment Association (RIA), signaling a formal commitment to ESG integration across its manager roster. The plan does not publicly disclose its total AUM. Based on Canadian regulatory filings typical of mid-sized university pension plans, the pool is estimated at approximately $297 million (Altss estimate). It operates from the university's main campus in Windsor, Ontario, without satellite offices, and professional staff headcount is not disclosed. The Master Trust Fund structure means governance and investment policy are set at the trust level, not independently by the retirement plan. Its structural differentiator is consolidation: the plan is one of several beneficiaries of the University of Windsor Master Trust Fund, a pooled arrangement that aggregates multiple smaller endowments and pension accounts to achieve fee scale and governance efficiency that none could obtain alone. This makes the plan less autonomous than a standalone Ontario pension fund but also gives it access to the trust's professional investment committee and external consultant relationships.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1955
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Windsor
Corporate office
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is the retirement plan governed?
The University of Windsor acts as plan sponsor and administrator. Formal input comes from two stakeholder groups: the University of Windsor Faculty Association (WUFA), which represents active faculty in pension negotiations, and the University of Windsor Retirees' Association (WURA), which advocates for retiree interests in plan oversight.
Does the plan invest directly or through external managers?
It invests entirely through a fund-of-funds structure. All retirement plan assets are held within the University of Windsor Master Trust Fund, which allocates capital to third-party investment managers across asset classes. The plan does not make direct co-investments, direct private equity deals, or direct real asset acquisitions.
What is the University of Windsor Master Trust Fund?
It is the pooled investment vehicle that holds assets for multiple university-affiliated plans, including the Employees' Retirement Plan. By aggregating several smaller pools, the trust achieves scale in manager fees and access to institutional fund vehicles. Investment policy and manager selection are set at the trust level.
Is the plan a PRI signatory?
Yes. The University of Windsor Employees' Retirement Plan became a signatory to the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2020. It also holds institutional membership in Canada's Responsible Investment Association (RIA), reflecting a formal ESG integration mandate across its external manager lineup.
What is the plan's AUM?
The plan has not publicly disclosed a current AUM figure. Based on typical regulatory filings for Ontario university pension plans of similar size and structure, the pool is estimated in the range of $250 million to $500 million, with an Altss research midpoint estimate of approximately $297 million (Altss estimate).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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