Fort McKay Landing is the first and largest private equity firm owned by a First Nation in Canada, focused on building a portfolio of income investments to support the Nation’s healthy and sustainable future.

It is planning to launch its Fund II in 2024 with the focus remaining on industrial services, real estate, and infrastructure with a focus on ESG, social good, and financial benefits to First Nations.

Fort McKay has been investing in and building businesses since 1986. Today, the Nation has a portfolio of 18 companies that generate approximately $500 million in annual revenue. Fort McKay has approximately $700 million assets under management (AUM). Annually, the Nation allocates capital to be deployed to expand its portfolio and acquire interests in new companies.

Fort McKay is located along the banks of the Athabasca River roughly 60 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. There are approximately 900 Cree and Dene members who belong to Fort McKay.

Stuart Randell, Chief Investment Officer, Fort McKay Landing, said the first fund was started about 20 years ago.

“Currently there is $550 million assets under management in Fund I and we’re looking at setting up Fund II in the near future,” he says. “Fund I is closed and there’s only one investor which is the Nation. Fort McKay would be the lead investor in Fund II and then we would bring in outside investors.

“Fort McKay is a private equity firm that operates just like every other private equity firm. There is a misconception that we are only interested in investing in Indigenous businesses- which isn’t the case. We look across Canada for well-established, profitable businesses with strong management teams in place. The only difference is the shareholder. The shareholder’s a First Nation and so the returns that this private equity firm makes goes back to the community.”

“The second part is the social focus. You can split that into a couple of different categories. Because Fort McKay is a First Nation, returns it generates go to pay for programs and services. So there’s a social good there. Second, Fort McKay is very focused on Indigenous employment. We have a mandate of 10 per cent in our portfolio companies.

Fort McKay First Nation Councillor Bobby Shott says “Fort McKay has been in business for the last 40 years and today we are proud to have transitioned into Private Equity investing. Fort McKay has always been a leader in business and the future of this Nation is capital markets and managing capital for wealth generation.”

Monika Wilson, Vice-President, Fort McKay Landing, says this is the first private equity firm owned by a First Nations. The organization feels really strongly about putting Indigenous directors on the boards of its companies and promoting women into leadership and executive roles in director positions as well.

Fort McKay is a sponsor of the upcoming Business Transitions Forum on October 12 in Winnipeg.

Wilson is appearing on a panel discussion called Taking (Some) Chips off the Table: Exploring Alternative Options.

This session will address Management Buyouts and Partnerships with Minority Investors.

“I attended the Vancouver Forum and I thought it was just a great opportunity for us to get more involved in other areas of Canada,” says Wilson. “For a long time, Fort McKay has been doing business in the Wood Buffalo (Alberta) region and then in other parts of Alberta but recently, we were given a mandate to diversify our portfolio.

“And so we’re looking for investments across the rest of Canada and into the U.S. We’re taking an active approach to advertising and building relationships - advertising about who we are so that we have a bigger presence in the business community across Canada and building relationships. It’s not well known what we do yet but we want to be able to get out there and share about who we are and what we do. And build relationships with entrepreneurs who have a business that fits the profile of what we’re looking for and are looking to exit, as well as other advisors in private equity or consultants.”

Fort McKay First Nation has the goal of becoming fully economically self-sufficient so that it can independently fund its mandate to protect Treaty Rights, revitalize culture, and maintain a strong and thriving community.

Each year, Fort McKay creates an operating budget to provide infrastructure and community services to its growing population. On average, five to 10 per cent of the annual operating budget is received from the provincial and federal governments and the remaining 90-95 per cent is generated by Fort McKay through business profits from its 18 companies, and sometimes supplemented by oil sands partners and business investments.

Fort McKay has contributed over $1 billion in accumulated business activity to the Alberta economy. Its portfolio companies currently operate across four provinces.

“Fund I is an evergreen fund meaning that Council gives us new money each year to deploy. Each year we go out into the market and we buy companies. Sometimes we buy 100 per cent or sometimes we take a minority position,” says Randell.

“Our niche is industrial services and light manufacturing. That’s what we’re good at. That’s what we understand. We do a little bit of real estate as well and major project infrastructure like pipelines and power lines. But the pipelines and power lines are 100 per cent financed. And so when we write a cheque to buy a company, we’re writing a $5 million cheque, we’re not writing a $500 million cheque. The pipelines are 100 per cent financed. But when it's industrial services companies or real estate then it’s equity coming directly from the First Nation.”