Coleman says he and his team will look at what the fund’s investment allocation is supposed to be, what its investment objectives and risk management policies will be. He’ll be looking at fees, at underlying investments, and at the underlying natural liquidity as well as any policies around redemptions. He notes that many private equity and alternative investment products have also seen issues around redemptions and liquidity. A fund investing in assets as illiquid as infrastructure projects may see similar issues.
While Coleman will take that systematic approach to assessing this retail fund, he also notes with some concern that most sovereign wealth funds are launched by states enjoying a surplus from their resource wealth. In 2025, Canada posted a budget deficit of $78 billion.
“If a client came to me and said, ‘I know I’m wildly deep in debt, I get it, but I really want to set up this investment account and hand the money to my cousin,’ I’d tell them to wait a minute, we need to pay off your debts,” Coleman says. “But apparently we have this extra money. We’re going to put in a sovereign wealth fund.”
Coleman also expressed some concern about the governance of this fund. While the Prime Minister announced that the fund will be an independently managed arms-length crown corporation, Coleman notes that the governing Liberal Party has had recent issues with transparency and management of publicly funded projects. He hopes that the fund will be managed with something akin to the expertise and independence we’ve seen from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Tina Tehranchian, Senior Wealth Advisor at CI Assante Wealth Management Ltd., echoed Coleman’s concern about debt, noting that Canada isn’t launching this fund from an existing place of surplus. She noted that this could signal a willingness to provide long-term backing for Canadian real assets, which could create structural tailwinds around sectors like infrastructure, natural resources, and industrial development.