Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan writes down FTX investment to zero

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan says it is writing down its US$95-million investment in FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed last week, to zero.

The Ontario pension fund invested US$75 million in FTX International and its U.S. entity FTX.US in October 2021 followed by an additional US$20 million in FTX.US in January this year.

The investments were made through Teachers’ Venture Growth in a move to gain exposure to an emerging area in the financial technology sector.

Ontario Teachers’ says the investment represented less than 0.05% of its total net assets and equated to ownership of 0.4% and 0.5% of FTX International and FTX.US, respectively.

It says the loss will have a limited impact on the plan, given its size relative to its total net assets and strong financial position.

John Ray III, who was appointed CEO at FTX last week, has called the situation a “complete failure” of corporate control at the cryptocurrency exchange.

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.