LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO

Looking back on 2020, we would first like to express our sincere gratitude to you, our OMERS members, who for months now have been core to helping others in Ontario navigate through this global, very serious pandemic. I cannot express deeply enough the pride that the entire OMERS team feels in coming to work for you every day — especially this year!

The pandemic has triggered new realities, and with those as a backdrop, there has been an expectation for organizations around the world to respond, recover and reinvent — OMERS is no different. Our team has responded to ensure that our operations have remained seamless in service of our members. We hope you agree that this is the case. We then went to work to do our best to recover from the pandemic’s significant negative impact on the markets around the world. And over the course of the year, we have reinvented how we interact and engage with you, meeting you wherever you are in Ontario, and in some cases, far beyond.

From a service standpoint, we replaced in-person interactions with virtual ones, so that we could continue to answer your questions and solicit your feedback. Over 1,500 of our CoCreate participants provided insights on several topics including the type of communications you would like to receive from us. In this issue, you will learn more about some of those ideas, our updated practices, and how you can make the most of the information we provide. Our goal is to constantly get better in service of you.

From an investment standpoint, as you know, so many businesses everywhere— especially consumer facing ones (retail, movies, travel, hotels) — have been negatively impacted, including some of yours. Like most investors, we have had several 2020 challenges, and are facing them in the best way we can on a daily basis, with an incredibly dedicated global team. Last year was an ‘up’ year, this year will be a ‘down’ year – but our commitment to you never waivers and remains focused on long term returns much more than short term volatility. Our 2020 results will be released in the first quarter of next year, at which time more information will be provided.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Far and away, the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." The entire OMERS team is inspired by these thoughts every day.

While this holiday season will look and feel much different than years past, we hope you will find new ways to celebrate the joy of the season. On behalf of OMERS, I wish you a healthy and safe finish to 2020, and like you, we sure look forward to having this year behind us and unlocking a new one next year with many reasons to be hopeful.