As a long-term conservative investor, the industry is a significant holder of government and
corporate bonds. In 2012, the industry held about $106 billion in Canadian corporate bonds and
$113 billion in government bonds in Canada (see Figure 1). Together, the industry's holdings of
government and corporate bonds in Canada accounted for about 40 per cent of their long-term
investments. Moreover, about 50 per cent of the industry's bond holdings had terms of 10
years or more. 1 The industry is also a significant investor in mutual funds (almost $140 billion),
equities (almost $93 billion), mortgages (about $42 billion) and real estate ($18.5 billion) as a
means to supporting its long-term business model.
FIGURE 1: CANADIAN LIFE AND HEALTH INSURERS' LONG-TERM INVESTMENT ALLOCATION
PROFILE OF INDUSTRY'S LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS, 2012
Other (e.g., securitization)
2% ($12B)
Fed. $29.4B (26%)
Prov. $73.3B (65%)
Mun. $ 9.8B ( 9%)
Equities
17% ($92.8B)
Government Bonds
21% ($112.5B)
Total = $539.5 Billion
Corporate Bonds
20% ($105.7B)
Mutual Funds
26% (139.7B)
Mortgages
8% ($42.4B)
Infrastructure
1% ($5.7B)
Real Estate
3% ($18.5B)
SOURCE: CLHIA
1
Based on a survey of CLHIA member companies.
3
Foreign Bonds
(gov't/corp)
2% ($10.1B)
