New SEC filings reveal that the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund made a notable portfolio shift during the third quarter of 2026: it cut its Tesla stake by 40.8% while nearly doubling its position in SpaceX, the private space company. The disclosure, which reflects holdings as of September 30, 2026, compared with June 30, 2026, offers a rare look at how one of Canada's largest pension funds is allocating capital across both public and private markets.
A snapshot, not a live signal
It's important to understand what these filings actually show. The SEC document is a quarterly snapshot of what the fund owned at a specific point in time—not a real-time view of its current sentiment. By the time the filing becomes public, weeks may have passed, and the fund's positions could have changed. Still, the data provides valuable insight into the thinking of a major institutional investor.
According to the filing, the pension fund reduced its Tesla holdings to 1.2 million shares, a drop of 40.8% from the prior quarter. At the same time, it increased its SpaceX stake to 2.2 million Class A shares, a jump of 95.2%. This is a significant shift from a widely traded public stock to a private company whose shares change hands far less frequently.
The same filing also revealed other moves: the fund added to positions in large US companies, including Merck (to 3.5 million shares), Salesforce (to 1.1 million), and Qualcomm (to 1.7 million). It also listed a position in Snap, the social media company. These additions suggest the fund is not simply rotating out of tech but rather rebalancing across a broad set of opportunities.
Why the shift matters
For everyday investors, the most instructive part of this story is the contrast between public and private assets. Public stocks like Tesla are constantly repriced by the market, so their volatility is obvious and you can usually trade them quickly. Private stakes, like those in SpaceX, don't get that continuous price discovery. Instead, their value is determined by periodic funding rounds or internal valuations, and selling can take months or longer.
This means a portfolio that looks 'calmer' on paper—because it holds more private assets—may actually carry different, less visible risks. The risk in private investments often shows up as uncertainty about valuation and limited liquidity, rather than daily price swings. As the old adage goes, 'it's not the volatility that gets you; it's the illiquidity.'
For a pension fund with a long time horizon, holding private companies can make sense. These funds can afford to lock up capital for years, and they often have the resources to conduct deep due diligence. But for individual investors, the lesson is different: SEC filings from big institutions are most useful for seeing what they wanted exposure to at a point in time, not for copy-pasting trades or assuming you can easily change course if markets turn.
What it means for investors
Should you read this as a signal to sell Tesla or buy SpaceX? Not necessarily. Institutional moves are often driven by factors like tax considerations, portfolio rebalancing, or a desire to match liabilities—none of which may apply to your situation. What you can take away is the broader trend: large investors are increasingly allocating to private markets, and that has implications for how you think about risk.
If you're considering a similar shift, remember that private investments come with trade-offs. They may offer higher potential returns, but they also lack the transparency and liquidity of public markets. And as this filing shows, even a pension fund—with its vast resources—can't escape the reality that private stakes are harder to value and harder to sell.
For now, the Ontario Teachers' move is a reminder that the investing landscape is evolving. Public markets remain the most accessible for most people, but the allure of private companies like SpaceX is strong. As always, the key is to understand what you own, why you own it, and how easily you can get out if you need to.
