Pension Giant Ontario Teachers' Plans to Write Off All $95M Invested in Crypto Exchange FTX

Ontario Teachers', one of Canada's largest pension funds with nearly $250 billion in assets under management (AUM), will write down the entirety of its $95 million investment in FTX after the troubled crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy protection.

The fund said it invested $75 million in FTX International and its U.S. entity FTX.US in October 2021, and then another $20 million in FTX.US in January of this year, according to a statement. The investments were made through Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) platform and represented less than 0.05% of the fund's total net assets, the statement added.

"The financial loss from this investment will have limited impact on the Plan, given its size relative to our total net assets and our strong financial position," said Ontario Teachers'. "However, we are disappointed with the outcome of this investment, take all losses seriously and will use this experience to further strengthen our approach."

Ontario Teachers had $242.5 billion in assets under managements, as of June 30, according to a recent investor presentation.

This isn't the first time a large Canadian pension fund got caught up in the crypto-related contagion. In August, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec – with more than $300 billion in AUM – wrote down its entire $150 million investment in failed crypto lender Celsius Network.

Read more: Who Still Has Exposure to FTX?