This is also apparent in the 1997 study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development (UW-MCED) that proposed new ETIs for Wisconsin (see Pension Funds and Public Equity Investing). UW-MCED examined numerous access to capital issues pertinent to job- creating SMEs in the state and found potential gaps in micro-lending, start-up and early stage venture financing, middle market investing in certain sectors and small-cap public equity. To deal with these, UW- MCED recommended a range of strategic responses that drew on the experience of high-performing, market- specific ETIs elswhere.^{Endnote 164}

Of course, there are asset-targeting models closer-to-home that tell a similar story. It has only been by methodically overcoming barriers to entry and sustained participation in private capital markets that the Caisse de dépôt has been able to fulfill its original mandate to generate market-grade, risk-adjusted returns while investing in Quebec economic growth and job creation. Indeed, as discussed in Caisse de dépôt: Ways and Means, Canada's largest manager of pension money can legimately claim to specialize in dealing with access to capital problems of all kinds, regardless of their nature or the requisite supply solution. The same may be said of Greystone Properties and Mortgage Fund One as they target real estate assets in British Columbia.

Public policy can play a vital role in this area. As the Organization for Economic Development and Co- operation has shown, governments in all advanced industrialized countries, including Canada, have a long history of direct and indirect intervention in the financial system to ensure adequate supply conditions for investment in new and developing SMEs.^{Endnote 165} At home, assorted policies and programs at the federal and provincial levels exist for this purpose. Most are geared to those markets where the need is perceived to be greatest, such as term lending and venture financing.

There is ample precedent for governments to assist pension assets gain more exposure to those capital markets that best serve Canada's productivity and jobs potential. As PIAC member responses to the fourteen barriers indicate, governments should focus on such initiatives as tailoring tax policies, facilitating the development of marketplace infrastructure and human resources, co-investing or partnering with funds on certain asset-targeting projects (i.e., where collateral benefits are intended), leveraging new asset allocations with fiscal (tax or spending) incentives and providing asset-specific insurance or underwriting (e.g., real estate, also where collateral benefits are intended). By emphasizing government-private sector partnerships that explicitly address impediments, Canadian public policy can contribute to broad pension participation that is not merely new or renewed, but sustained over time.