Latest News
AIMCo splits top job, beefs up investment team The C$69 billion ($66 billion) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) will split its chief executive and chief investment officer roles, with Leo de Bever retaining the chief executive position, while a search is underway for a new CIO. Read more |
Timber the next new thing for Aussie sovereign fund The A$66 billion ($58 billion) Australian sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, is doubling its allocation to “tangible assets” and will soon make its first allocation to the timberland sub-asset class. Read more |
Manager shakeup at Norway's SWF as real estate approved...
A shakeup of service providers is expected at Norway’s $456.4 billion (NOK 2,549 billion) Government Pension Fund Global, as the sovereign wealth fund gains approval to invest up to 5 per cent in real estate, at the expense of bonds, at the same time it looks to fill equities mandates in 21 differen
...while Ministry of Finance dictates new guidelines for responsible investing
Norges Bank, the manager of the $456.4 billion (NOK 2,549 billion) Government Pension Fund Global, will integrate considerations of good corporate governance and environmental and social issues into its investment activities under an ambitious new requirement set out by the Ministry of Finance.
Institutions worldwide rethink passive exposures: Towers Watson
The number of bond mandates awarded by institutional funds shot up by more than 50 per cent in 2009 as credit markets provided attractive investment opportunities, while the amount of passive allocations made by institutions increased fourfold in the past two years, according to Towers Wat
Towers Watson changes the guard
Roger Urwin has stepped down from his position as head of Towers Watson's think tank, the “thinking ahead group”, to take up a two-day a week advisory position at MSCI Barra. He will continue in his role as head of global investment content at Towers Watson.
Private sector reform needed for US public funds: report
US public sector pension funds will have to take a radical private-enterprise approach to reforming employee benefits and revising investment expectations if funds are to fulfil their obligations to existing and new employees.
AP2 appoints another new CIO
The SEK 204 billion ($28 billion) Second Swedish National Pension Fund/AP2 has appointed its fourth chief investment officer in four years, as the fund reports its best annual return since inception.
France's SWF names manager selection committee
France’s €33 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Fonds de Reserve Pour Les Retraites, has made four appointments to its independent manager selection committee tasked with reviewing all mandate bids by funds managers.
CalSTRS expands active/passive decision making
CalSTRS will double the ranges of its active/passive global equities allocations in a bid to enable investment staff to allocate funds tactically across active and passive rather than be forced to rebalance to strategic asset allocations.
CalPERS rates reputational risk above investments
Risk to reputation is more important than risk to investments according to a survey of internal staff at CalPERS completed as part of its governance/risk management initiative.
ATP's split portfolio
The performance of the hedging portfolio and a 43 per cent allocation to interest-rate sensitive bonds in the investment beta portfolio of the DKK352 billion ($65 billion) ATP were the main contributors to the group increasing pension reserves by one third last year.
Ibbotson says Brinson 'not quite right' on returns
Portfolio specific asset allocation policy and portfolio security selection, timing and fees contribute equally to the variation of portfolio returns according to new research by Professor Roger Ibbotson of Yale School of Management, progressing earlier work by Brinson et al which attributed more th
CalPERS to commit $22bn to private equity
CalPERS is expecting to deploy the $22 billion in unfunded commitments of its alternatives investment management program in the next two to three years, with greater concentration among the best performing managers one of the priorities for 2010.
US funds lag in risk management
US public sector funds spend less than half the time and resources on risk management than the average of their global peers according to a survey of 58 funds by Canadian-based CEM Benchmarking.
'Periodic table' for investment shows case for diversification
The latest ‘periodic table’ of investment returns – which ranks the performance of key equity and credit indices over two decades – from Callan Associates reinforces a lasting rule for long-term investors: diversification works.
Mercer going cold on global shares as valuations pushed
Mercer Investment Consulting has revised down its view of global equities markets, suggesting the rally has pushed prices to fair value from their previous rating of undervalued.
New private equity head for New York Teachers
The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System has restructured its internal investment team creating a new role of head of private equity, to create five direct investment reports to the executive director, and has already made a number of additional investments in that asset class.
Australian Future Fund favours hedge funds
The A$66 billion ($58.8 billion) Australian Future Fund has tapped its cash portfolio to increase its exposure to alternatives, with cash dropping from 46 to 15 per cent in the past year, including an estimated allocation of $3.7 billion to three hedge fund managers in the fourth quarter of las
Dutch pension schemes show relative conservatism
Dutch pension schemes have the highest allocation to bonds, with an average weighting of 48 per cent, while US and UK funds favour equities, according to the 2010 Towers Watson global pension assets study.
Have your say
What’s the role of an asset consultant post crisis?Asset consultants have recently started offering medium-term asset allocation advice, often as a separately priced service. Watson Wyatt Worldwide calls it ‘dynamic strategic asset allocation’. Russell Investments calls it ‘enhanced asset allocation’. Whatever the term, the advice sits between tactical asset allocation at the short end and strategic asset allocation at the ... For further details of the story, and to have your say click here |
Opinion
Appalled in Greenwich Connecticut Managing and founding principal of AQR Capital Management, Cliff Asness, responds to President Obama's call to limit the size and power of America's banks. |
