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Investor Profile
Railpen ups infra allocation; commodities investments get the green light
Railpen will ramp up its infrastructure allocation and take on more core-plus and value-add assets to complement its existing core exposures. It also received the nod to a commodities allocation which director of total portfolio investments John Greaves believes is a hedge to inflation and uncertain central bank policies.
Uncategorised posts
Dutch DC reform: Eyes on the bond markets as funds step up risk
The Dutch pension sector's switch to a defined contribution system will have big consequences for Europe’s bond market, as funds push up the risk curve with their investment strategies. It comes at a time when European governments face record funding needs.
Technology
CPP Investments on how AI redefines core investing roles and processes
CPP Investments’ trials show AI agents can handle key investment tasks end-to-end. In an interview, chief operating officer Jon Webster says tight governance, and the right human oversight, is the difference between breakthroughs and mistakes.
News
Distinct LP roles drive scale in impact investing market
A new report found large allocators favour established managers for impact mandates due to their track record, while foundations and insurers play a vital role in supporting early-stage managers that need time to develop an institutional grade offering.
Investor Profile
In-house investment and alternatives: How Germany’s WPV sets itself apart
Germany's WPV stands out amongst peers for its in-house investment management and the fact that half of its €6 billion ($6.9 billion) portfolio is invested in alternatives. Managing director Sascha Pinger explains how these characters give the fund an edge in Germany's competitive environment for industry pension funds.
News
Thinking Ahead Institute co-founder exits amid deeper integration with WTW
Tim Hodgson, co-founder of WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute, has left the prolific research network as it seeks closer ties with the broader consultancy. The network's head Marisa Hall rejected the suggestion of any fundamental restructuring but said TAI needs more resources as it takes on more TPA projects.
Governance
Proxy voting: Trump tightens the screws, but sole reliance on proxies rare
Institutional investors have played down the impact that President Trump's executive order to limit the power of proxy advisors will have on their investment processes, with pension funds suggesting proxy inputs only form a part of their voting decisions. However, the development feeds into an ongoing crimping of investor power.
Investor Profile
Veritas plans equity boost as Finland rewrites pension rules
Finland’s €5 billion ($5.8 billion) Veritas Pension Insurance Company is preparing to increase its public equity allocation by 15 per cent in line with new regulations in the country that aim to improve the sustainability and financial stability of the pension system. CIO Laura Wickström explains her approach.
Investor Profile
How CalPERS aims to add 50-60 bps using TPA
Stephen Gilmore says he can add 50 to 60 basis points to portfolio returns by using a total portfolio approach. In a long interview, Amanda White spoke to the CIO of CalPERS about why a TPA mindset can add value, simplify accountability and open new opportunities for investments.
Featured Story
Europe rearms, defence returns surge, asset owners rethink exposure
Years of hard-line exclusions of the defence industry kept many asset owners out of one of the strongest-performing sectors. Now, as Europe rearms, investors are reworking defence policies – cautiously and under intense scrutiny.
Sustainability
USS paper urges governments to do more to support climate policy
A new report from USS and the University of Exeter, argues that investors who focus on decarbonising their portfolios won't change real-world decarbonisation and would have more impact on climate change by buying transition investments.
Sustainability
PRI slashes reporting burden to preserve code relevance among signatories
The Principles for Responsible Investment will reduce signatories’ responsibilities in their annual mandatory reporting from 240 questions to just 40 next year. The outgoing PRI chief David Atkin explains the move and why asset owners have a big role in stabilising the discussion around responsible investment.
Sustainability
Climate politics: BlackRock hits back at NYC Comptroller
The skirmish between the New York City Comptroller and BlackRock over climate alignment of the city’s public pension funds – a fight worth a $42 billion mandate to BlackRock – highlights the complexity and impracticality of aligning climate expectations, reporting requirements and business imperatives.
Infrastructure
APG’s answer to aligning government and investment goals in infrastructure
An increasing push to invest in home markets means asset owners need better frameworks for aligning government expectations with investment goals. APG’s three-pronged approach for public infrastructure investments could act as a guide for other investors looking to balance fiduciary duty with political demands.
Fixed Income
CalPERS touts fixed income wins, gears up for TPA
At the annual review of its fixed income portfolio, CalPERS staff explain how active management, value-add strategies and the hunt for alpha are paying off, with ESG integration giving it a valuable edge and informing it to invest in companies under pressure like Boeing at the right time.
FIS Stanford 2025
Real asset opportunities ‘are coming from everywhere’: Macquarie
While the US remains the most entrepreneurial economy, China might now be challenging its technology leadership, while demographics, deglobalisation, decarbonisation, and digitalisation are creating “massive opportunities” in almost every market, according to Macquarie Asset Management.
FIS Stanford 2025
Public-private partnerships key to fixing US infrastructure
The size of the current infrastructure investment gap and the speed at which it is widening mean there is both a desire and a need for more public-private partnerships to unlock funding. Investors say that collaboration with local governments and raising public awareness of private investment benefits are crucial.
FIS Stanford 2018
FIS Stanford Photo Gallery
View photos from the 2018 Fiduciary Investors Symposium, held at Stanford University, United States.
FIS Stanford 2018
China’s enticing, challenging market
Inefficient markets and an explosion of technological innovation fuelled by Millennial consumers make China a tantalising prospect but accessing strong returns there isn’t as simple as it looks.
FIS Stanford 2018
Protecting human capital helps everyone
Investors have plenty to gain from helping to protect human rights in supply chains and managing the human costs during technological disruption and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
FIS Stanford 2018
How to follow megatrends to success
The big themes that will fuel growth in coming decades are interconnected and subject to change. An expert panel gave advice on riding societal change to outperformance.
FIS Stanford 2018
How the active complements the passive
Investors discuss the various ways that two styles often presented as if they are enemies in fact work hand in hand across portfolios to produce returns.
News
Limited alternatives keep global capital anchored to the US
Singapore’s Temasek said while US exceptionalism may be “fraying”, there aren’t many alternative markets that can handle the same volume of global capital. Meanwhile, fellow sovereign fund GIC believes the greenback’s reserve currency status remains solid even though currency swings could spell trouble for foreign investors.
FIS Oxford 2025
LP demands for bespoke solutions define new era for private managers
Private asset managers can expect to work harder for LP capital as allocators increasingly look for more bespoke, flexible structures that meet their changing needs around liquidity, fee and types of exposures. Investors at FIS Oxford unpack how they approach manager relationships in the new era of private investments.
Asset Allocation
Fordham University dials up growth equity, cools on private credit
Fordham University CIO Geeta Kapadia is cutting back on private credit, calling it an asset class “less able to financially engineer returns” in a higher-rate world. She’s instead redirecting the $1.1 billion endowment to venture and growth equity and entrusting larger mandates to a smaller roster of high-conviction managers.
Asset Allocation
South Carolina lifts private equity and credit as cashflow turns positive
The South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission's improved liquidity position has allowed the plan to tilt its portfolio towards unlisted asset classes, including private equity and private credit. The fund grew fast thanks to funding reform, improved salaries, and positive investment returns and is now looking to boost long-term performance.
News
KIC eyes pivot to total portfolio approach in latest review
The $206.5 billion Korea Investment Corporation has become the latest asset owner weighing a shift into the total portfolio approach in an attempt to boost investment returns. After putting out an RFP for a consulting partner in May, it will conduct a review into early next year about TPA's feasibility.
InFocus
TAA critical to adding value over the next six to 18 months
After several painful years, geographical diversification is finally working and will continue to work, at least in the short term, with increasing signs of a valuation advantage for non-US stocks and bonds, according to T. Rowe Price’s Sébastien Page. He says it's time to make use of tactical asset allocation.
Investor Profile
USS swings into surplus but flags re-think after Thames losses
USS says losses in Thames Water have led to deep reflection on how it will invest in regulated assets in the future, flagging the need for consistent regulation to support pension fund investment. As the fund celebrates its 50th year it records a surplus for the first time since 2008.
Strategy
UK’s transition-focused SWF gets green light
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves didn’t waste any time approving the UK’s new SWF aimed at funding the energy transition. As it begins to lay down structure and governance frameworks critics point to the challenges of bringing projects to a level where they are investable.