* CEO says Bombardier CEO Bellemare going 'good job'
* 2015 weighted average return 9.1 pct vs 12 pct in 2014
* Net assets increased to C$248 billion by end of year
(New throughout, adds CEO comments on Bombardier)
By Matt Scuffham
MONTREAL, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Canada's second-largest pension
fund, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, said it was open
to further investment in Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO after
reporting strong returns in 2015.
Quebec's public pension fund manager agreed to buy a 30
percent stake in Bombardier's rail business for $1.5 billion in
November, providing a bigger cash cushion for Bombardier's
planemaking unit.
Asked if the Caisse would invest further in Bombardier Inc,
Caisse Chief Executive Michael Sabia said: "Are we open to the
idea of increasing our position? Yes. Are we going to increase
our level of investment in Bombardier Inc very soon? Probably
not. We have an important investment in a subsidiary of
Bombardier. For now, that represents significant exposure."
Bombardier has struggled to win new orders for its C Series
plane with some potential clients looking for more certainty
about its financial health before placing orders. It remains in
talks over possible federal aid.
The company last week received the first order in 16 months
for its CSeries jets, sending its shares higher and
overshadowing news of lower-than-expected results and plans to
cut 7,000 jobs.
Sabia backed Chief Executive Alain Bellemare to turn the
business around and said he should be given time.
"Alain Bellemare is doing a very good job. Turnarounds take
time. Alain's been there about a year. In the history of a
turnaround those are early days so we'll see how that
progresses," Sabia said.
The Caisse reported weighted average returns of 9.1 percent
in 2015, weaker than the average return of 12 percent it
achieved in 2014 reflecting volatile equity markets and global
economic uncertainty.
However, it beat the average return of 5.4 percent achieved
by Canadian pension funds last year, according to research by
RBC Investor Services.
Over the past four years, the Caisse said its annualised
return was 10.9 percent, 90 basis points ahead of the benchmark
portfolio which it compares itself against.
Since Sabia was appointed in 2009, the fund has sought
higher returns by investing more funds in alternative assets
such as infrastructure and real estate, shifting funds out of
equities and low-yielding government bonds.
"While not immunizing our portfolio against market
movements, our strategy makes it more resilient in turbulent
times," Sabia said.
The Caisse said its net assets had increased to C$248
billion at the end of 2015, compared with C$226 billion 12
months earlier.