The fund's sole mandate is to maximize returns without undue risk, a value-centric approach that explicitly rejects concessionary or 'values-based' impact investing.
The world is undergoing an 'energy addition,' not merely a transition, justifying continued, significant investment in oil and gas assets alongside renewables to meet growing global demand.
While AI is a powerful tool for operational efficiency, its ability to generate superior investment decisions remains unproven, and the current concentration in AI stocks poses a portfolio risk to be actively managed.
Despite geopolitical tensions and a reduction in the fund's allocation, maintaining some level of investment in China is essential for any long-term global investor due to its economic scale.
A potential breakdown in the historical negative correlation between equities and fixed income is a primary concern, as it threatens a foundational assumption of institutional portfolio construction.
Approx. 27 years ago
CPP Investments was established with an initial $12 million, at a time when the Canada Pension Plan was only about 15% funded.
Approx. 10-15 years ago
Private equity became one of the largest and most significant drivers of returns for the CPP Investments portfolio.
Approx. 10 years ago
CPP Investments acquired the Antares Capital lending platform from General Electric, expanding its private credit capabilities.
Past few years
Graham oversaw a period of significant strategic shifts, including reducing China exposure from 12% to 7%, decreasing emerging markets allocation to 15%, and shutting down the internal macro trading team.
Past 3-4 years
The fund's assets grew by approximately $300 billion while its employee headcount remained flat, demonstrating a focus on operational scaling.
Present
Graham is leading the deployment of large language models to all employees to promote AI fluency and is navigating a market where private equity returns have slowed and the equity-fixed income correlation is a major concern.
▶Pragmatic, Value-Driven MandateJul 2026
Graham consistently frames CPP Investments' strategy through its sole fiduciary mandate: maximizing returns without undue risk. This philosophy dictates a focus on 'value, not values,' leading to decisions like continued investment in oil and gas and avoiding concessionary or impact funds. The compensation structure, which lacks carried interest, further reinforces this alignment with the fund's beneficiaries over individual deal-makers.
This unwavering focus on a purely financial mandate makes CPP Investments a predictable and commercially-driven partner, but it may also expose the fund to criticism from stakeholders advocating for divestment or values-based investing.
▶Strategic Geographic RebalancingJul 2026
Graham details a deliberate shift in the fund's geographic footprint, characterized by a significant reduction in China and broader emerging markets exposure. Concurrently, he manages US exposure within a specific target range (45-50%) and notes that Canada is becoming an increasingly attractive investment destination due to government ambition in infrastructure.
This rebalancing reflects a broader institutional trend of de-risking from geopolitical volatility and reallocating capital towards more stable, developed markets with clear policy tailwinds, signaling a more cautious global outlook.
▶Cautious and Measured Adoption of AI
Graham's approach to AI is bifurcated. Operationally, the fund is an enthusiastic adopter, deploying LLMs to all employees to boost fluency and using AI to improve investment committee processes. As an investment theme, however, he is far more circumspect, questioning AI's ability to generate better decisions and deliberately underweighting AI-related stocks to mitigate concentration risk.
This strategy separates the tangible efficiency gains from AI tools from the speculative nature of AI as an investment, demonstrating a disciplined, risk-managed approach that avoids chasing technological hype cycles.
▶Scaling Through Efficiency and TechnologyJul 2026
A key operational theme is achieving massive growth in assets under management without a corresponding increase in headcount. Graham highlights that AUM grew by $300 billion over 3-4 years while the number of employees remained flat. He predicts that AI will be a key enabler of this trend, allowing the fund to manage hundreds of billions more without significant cost increases.
This focus on operational leverage signals a strategic shift from the traditional model of scaling investment firms by adding personnel to a technology-driven model focused on maximizing productivity and efficiency.