This research report was prepared to assist the Canadian Labour Market and Productivity Centre's (CLMPC) Task Force on Access to Capital, which has examined issues pertaining to the financing of Canadian high value - added investment. CLMPC research into labour-sponsored investment funds reflects original, detailed study of these relatively new actors in Canada's financial system.

This report traces the evolution of international models of investment and financing that involve unions and workers, such as the spread of tax-subsidized employee share ownership plans (ESOPs) in the United States. Sweden's supplementary pension system (ATP) and Denmark's employee capital pension fund (ECPF) reveal traits similar to those identified by the CLMPC for Canadian labour-sponsored funds.