Canada's New Sovereign Wealth Fund Has a CEO but Has Not Named Its Board: How to Write Outreach to an LP Still Building Its Team

On 9 November 2026 the Prime Minister's Office named Karen Karniol-Tambour as the first chief executive of the Canada Strong Fund, a new federal sovereign wealth fund with an initial capital commitment of C$25 billion. The announcement did not give a start date, name the board or name any investment staff. We set out the facts in our report on the appointment. This piece covers the practical question that follows: how do you write to an allocator that has a chief executive and a mandate, but not yet a team?

What a new allocator changes, and what it does not

When an institution is still being built, the usual outreach habits break down. There is no head of private markets to address, no investment committee calendar to work around and no history of commitments to reference. The announcement does give two useful facts. The fund is to invest on commercial terms through two streams, co-investment alongside federal entities and independent strategic investments, and it is not described as a manager of external funds. That tells you what a first approach should not be, which is a fund pitch asking for a commitment. It also tells you what it could be: a short, specific co-investment capability note. The rest of this piece is our advice, not guidance from the Canada Strong Fund.

Step 1: Decide whether you belong on the list at all

The described mandate is Canadian companies and projects, with minority investments alongside the government. If your strategy has no Canadian assets and no way to source them, waiting costs you little. If you do have Canadian assets or a pipeline, write down which of them already have federal support, because that is the overlap the fund has described.

Step 2: Do not write to the chief executive

A chief executive who has just been named, who has not yet started and whose start date is not public, is the least useful person to write to. Her office will be handling a large volume of attention. A better target is the person who will be named to lead investments, whenever that is announced. Keep a short note ready and send it to the named head of investments, or to whoever the fund says to contact, within a few weeks of that announcement. We do not recommend looking for or using personal contact details for anyone.

Step 3: Write a co-investment note, not a fund pitch

Keep it to about 100 words. State the asset or strategy in one sentence, the size range of deals you can bring, how quickly you can close and your track record in that area. Say that you are interested in the co-investment stream and offer a short call or a one-page summary. Do not mention the retail Canada Strong Notes, which are a product for individuals and not an allocation to managers. A workable structure is four short sentences: who you are, the one asset or strategy that fits a Canadian co-investment, the deal size and timing you can offer, and a single request, for example fifteen minutes when the team is in place. Leave out your full fund terms, performance tables and anything that reads as a request for a commitment. If a one-page summary is attached, make sure it can be read without a call.

Step 4: Use a warm route where you have one

A new organisation is likely to rely on people it already trusts. A warm introduction from a co-investor, lender or adviser who has worked with the person you are writing to is worth more than a perfect cold email. Our note on writing to an LP with no chief investment officer covers a similar gap, and our piece on writing when an LP names an insider to a bigger seat shows how to reference a leadership change without presuming a new strategy.

Step 5: Follow up on the facts, not on the calendar

Do not send a second note because two weeks have passed. Send it when something changes: a board is named, legislation to make the fund a Crown corporation moves, or the terms of the retail notes are published. Each is a reason to write again in one sentence. Silence is normal while an organisation is still being built.

The numbers, as a share of capital and of count

By capital, the C$25 billion commitment is the only figure disclosed, and the split between the two investment streams has not been given. By count, the fund has two streams, one named executive and no named board members or investment staff. A manager sending one note to one team has no meaningful way to estimate odds, which is a reason to keep the effort small.

What to watch next

Watch for the start date, the board, the first investment hires and the legislation. FundLinx members can track new allocators as they build their teams.

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