Sweden’s SEK175.7 billion ($24.9 billion) AP4 is planning to introduce active management to its global equities portfolio and is investing in people with the hope of driving better investment performance. Kristen Paech talks to chief executive, Mats Andersson, about the merits of being contrarian and why AP4 is standing by active management despite historical poor performance.
CPPIB consortium purchases Skype majority
The C$116 billion ($105 billion) Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board is part of an investor group led by private equity technology-specialist, Silver Lake, that has purchased a majority-stake in Skype Technologies from eBay, and “plans to build the company into a core internet franchise at huge scale”Â.
UK’s Lothian Pension Fund boosts alternatives
The £2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) Lothian Pension Fund, part of the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme, has
overhauled its investment strategy, increasing its alternatives weighting to more than one third of the total fund, after poor performance in financial year 2008-09 wiped 17 per cent off the fund’s value.
Giant Norwegian SWF sizes up active management
An external review is being carried out on behalf of one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, the NOK2.47 trillion ($405 billion) Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global, to determine whether active management should continue, with opinions sought from international experts in the UK and US.
CalsTRS initiates active/passive review
CalSTRS staff will present to the investment committee the first of three reports on the optimal balance between active versus passive in its global equity and fixed income portfolios, a process that will culminate in recommendations for any structural changes in February next year.
New York examines investment transactions for non-compliance
The Mercer Sentinel Group has completed a review of the New York Common Retirement Fund’s investment transactions approved by the State Comptroller over a two year period, concluding only one out of 112 transactions did not comply with written policies and procedures.
