“India gives us scale, growth and diversification,” said Charles Emond, president and CEO, La Case. “There hasn’t been a year where all five or six asset classes have done well together. In times of great volatility, diversification and a broad portfolio are more important than ever.”
In its 10th year of operation, India accounted for about 10% of the fund’s current C$517 billion ($377 billion) in assets under management (AUM), or C$10 billion ($7 billion).
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Emond believes that “it would not be wrong to assume” that in the next 4-5 years another Canadian $4 billion (about $3 billion) will be deployed. According to him, most of this money will be for building infrastructure, followed by real estate and then private equity.
“India with its strong push towards urbanisation, sustainable energy demand and demographics really plays to our strengths,” he said.
To put the numbers in perspective, La Caisse – it manages money on behalf of Quebec’s pension and insurance plans, — has approximately 10% of the global portfolio of assets targeted for Asia Pacific. In this, India is the second largest country after Australia, which has tripled as a percentage of the APAC portfolio in the last decade. Even as India saw a record $18.9 billion inflow from foreign portfolio investors and net foreign direct investment (FDI) remained negative for the fourth consecutive month in December 2025, Emond continues to point to the Indian government’s second reason to attract foreign investment. all over the world
“They have a clear vision and are consistent in their policies. They all sing the same song. Many other countries can benefit from how the Indian government is actively seeking foreign investors,” Emond said.
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According to him, high growth and values are the loss of abroad. “India is one of the few markets where there is liquidity. The IPO market has given very good returns.”
According to Emond, infrastructure spending will drive “huge flows” across renewable energy, digital infrastructure, real estate, strategic transportation, EVs. This is his second visit to the country since he took office in 2020, just a month before Covid paralyzed the world.
In India, the fund has jointly invested with Piramal Asset Management on a personal credit financing platform, and with Embassy Group on an investment platform for office business parks. La Caisse’s other investments in the country include PharmEasy, logistics company Logos India, Maple Highways – a platform for the road sector that it owns in India and is also a sponsor of the Indian Highways Concession Trust (IHCT).
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Now as one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors, including Jebel Ali in Dubai – with a marquee investment in DP World – La Caisse is developing a 70km light rail transit system in Montreal – the world’s longest – which it plans to design, build, finance and operate.
Part of a two-pronged strategy to generate returns for its reserves while contributing to Quebec’s economic development, Émond says he hopes the project will return 8-9% for the next 50 years, as well as help reduce greenhouse emissions by 100,000 tonnes per year.
The renewable energy investment in Azure Power, a clean energy platform, however, has been met with negative publicity and regulatory scrutiny.
The independent power producer that was eagerly listed on the NYSE was delisted in 2022-2023 amid a cloud of controversy over governance issues after a whistleblower report alleging corruption led to the resignation of its auditor and delayed financial results. The cases are still ongoing. The company has assets of 3GWs.
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“The current environment has forced us to take a deeper look at what kind of businesses we’re getting into, the asset classes we’re betting on.” For India, La Caisse’s thesis is clear. “We want to grow together with institutional partners. We want to act as minority partners and be part of larger consortia as opposed to majority positions.”
Earlier this year, La Caisse presented its financial results for the year ending December 31, 2025. The weighted average return of its 48 mutual funds was 9.3% for the year, below the 10.9% return of its benchmark portfolio. Over the long term, performance outperformed the benchmark portfolio: over five years, the annualized return was 6.5%, versus the benchmark portfolio’s 6.2%. By 2030, La Caisse plans to increase climate action investments to C$400 billion, in line with its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Last year, it also agreed to invest £1.7 billion for a 20% stake in the 3.2GW Sizewell C nuclear power project jointly with the government and EDF in the UK. The investment supports the expansion of the £38 billion plant, which is designed to power 6 million homes.
“We are the first institutional investor to support a nuclear project. This demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and also proves that we are a reliable partner that can deliver complex investment solutions.”
Discussing the unprecedented global instability between AI disruptions, tariffs and the war in Iran, Emond says it is forcing the world to look at things differently and stop taking things for granted. “People might say that the oil shock or the cracks in personal credit or even the AI disruptions aren’t as bad as past shocks. Maybe it’s true that none of them might be that bad but when you put it all together, on top of the bullish US market, it certainly warrants some caution.” According to him, the best strategy is to remain disciplined and maintain discretion. “Achieving all markets with the same mix won’t work.”
