Investor Profile

Aware Super positions for growth

Aware Super, one of Australia's largest superannuation funds, engaged McKinsey as part of the development of its next five-year strategy which the fund presented to the board in March. As it develops its next five-year plan a key initiative is how to deal with growth as it plans for an organisation that could double in size.
Matthew SmithJune 22, 2021
Equities

Fiduciary duty in dysfunctional markets

Phil Edwards and Paul Woolley argue that if asset owners exhibit a more effective application of fiduciary duty to curb performance-chasing by verifying the implicit time horizon of the strategies adopted by the asset managers they employ, they could incentivise a shift towards longer horizons within financial markets with both private and social benefits.
Organisational Design

Eliminating the costs of disruption

Institutional investors face a rapid and evolving set of responsibilities that can severely impact their ability to focus and fulfill on their long-term strategy if not dealt with in a process-driven way. FCLTGLobal has released a guide for investors, Ripples of Responsibility, to specifically provide procedures around those responsibilities and gives investors tools to understand and fulfill on these responsibilities.
Investor Profile

PSP expands total portfolio approach

In just 20 years the Canadian fund PSP Investments has grown from a standing start to more than C$200 billion. As it enters its next five year strategy, Amanda White spoke to CIO Eduard van Gelderen about the next phase of portfolio management and the development of its total portfolio approach including assessing and allocating investments on a sector basis.
Sustainability

Investors call for more transparency in climate disclosures

Investors including the French SWF wanting clarity around corporate carbon emissions call for mandatory disclosure.
Sustainability

Time for institutional investors to confront income inequality

A new toolkit from The Investment Integration Project, with support from the Generation Foundation, applies principles of systems-level investing to show how investors can confront income inequality and take actions that enhance their current policies and practices. William Burckart and Michael Musuraca from TIIP explain.
William Burckart and Michael MusuracaJune 16, 2021
Investor Profile

Church of Sweden manages concentration risk

The SEK10 billion Church of Sweden fund invests all its assets through a sustainability lens. It’s had stellar performance driven largely by a chunk of the fund invested in the Generation Investment Management global equity fund, an investment that was diluted last year to manage concentration risk. Amanda White spoke to CIO, Anders Thorendal.
Amanda WhiteJune 15, 2021
articleTechnology

OPTrust leads on AI innovation

The C$23 billion Canadian fund OPTrust is using AI to reduce risk in a strategy it hopes to roll out to the wider portfolio. Wei Xie explains the benefits and challenges of machine learning including AI's ability to identify complex dimensional relationships.
Sarah RundellJune 10, 2021
Sustainability
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Sustainability

Execution risk in net zero portfolios

Implementing net zero ambitions is a huge execution risk for investors, says Frederic Samama who warned of the risk of everyone doing the same thing at the same time.
Amanda WhiteJune 7, 2021
Sustainability

How CalSTRS took on Exxon

In an unequivocal message to boards that climate inaction could cost them their positions, Exxon shareholders voted this week to replace atleast two of its directors with those that have experience in climate transition. It is a win for CalSTRS which has been vocal in its support of Engine No.1, the activist hedge fund that put forward the alternative directors. The proposal was also supported by CalPERS and New York State Common Retirement Fund.
Amanda WhiteMay 27, 2021
Sustainability

Examining the limits of modern portfolio theory

The definition of what it means to invest is changing, according to Jon Lukomnik and James P. Hawley, which means examining the limitations of the 75-year old legacy of modern portfolio theory.
Jon Lukomnik and James P. HawleyMay 27, 2021
Sustainability

Impact takes centre stage at Bridgewater

The appointment of Karen Karniol-Tambour and Carsten Stendevad as co-CIOs of Bridgewater’s new sustainability business marks a major milestone in the hedge fund’s business, applying its deep research-driven systematic approach to a new set of problems. Amanda White speaks exclusively to the two CIOs.
Amanda WhiteMay 13, 2021
Top1000funds.com celebrates 1000 newsletters. This is what our readers had to say
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“Top1000funds.com is a breath of fresh air in terms circulating stories that encompass new ideas and original thinking to keep us all abreast of the ideas that matters to us in the asset management industry in general and asset allocation spheres. I thank you for that.”

Hareb Masood Al-Darmaki

deputy chair of investment committee; advisor to the managing director, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

“Congratulations to Amanda and the team on this milestone. Your timely and relevant articles consistently offer thoughtful insights about the industry, and I look forward to seeing what the next era of investing will bring.”

Rebecca Fender

head of the Future of Finance Initiative, CFA Institute

“Accurate, authoritative, informative and readable. Top1000funds.com is everything a specialised industry publication should be. Congratulations on your 1000th issue.”

Fiona Reynolds

chief executive, PRI

“Top1000funds is the pre-eminent source for news and analysis on global issues of consequence to long-term investors. The focus is spot on. It is my go-to reference for what’s happening in our industry and what’s to come.”

Barbara Zvan

former chief risk and strategy officer, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan

“Top1000funds.com is one of the best on-line sources for learning what my peers around the world are thinking and doing to allocate capital. It’s essential reading!”

Mark Walker

CIO, Coal Pension Trustees (United Kingdom)

“I find Top1000funds.com to be a useful, must-read source of information regarding developments within the institutional investment industry. Its global reach provides a variety of perspectives which aids the practitioner to navigate the challenges faced when managing a portfolio.”

Mansco Perry

executive director and chief investment officer, Minnesota State Board of Investment (United States)

“The Top1000funds.com newsletter is an excellent read for CIOs. From my perspective, the newsletter provides important insights on how our global peers are innovating and changing the way they go about investing in order to drive better outcomes for stakeholders.”

Kristian Fok

chief investment officer, Cbus (Australia)

“Top1000funds.com always provides a thorough analysis of the best practices in the investment industry around the planet. This is a unique way to have such a perspective and there is always some insights we can all benefit from. The publication deserves a lot of credit for such work.”

Frederic Samama

head of responsible investment, Amundi (France)

“Top1000funds.com consistently provides thorough, reliable and insightful information about how global assets owners are navigating an increasingly complex investment landscape.”

Janine Guillot

chief executive, SASB (United States)

“Top1000funds.com provides a great mix of stories that are of interest to asset owners and those who work with them, covering both investment topics and organisational ones. While aimed at “the world’s largest institutional investors,” the articles are relevant to all kinds of asset owners, as well as professionals at other investment organisations.”

Tom Brakke

TJB Research (United States)

“The Top1000funds.com newsletter has become a very powerful source of information for the community of asset owners around the world. It is relevant and deep. I’ve known Amanda White for more than a decade now, she probably has the deepest understanding of the topics that are of interest to asset owners in the field globally.”

Jaap van Dam

principal director investment strategy, PGGM; and author of Achieving Investment Excellence (The Netherlands)

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Dong Hun Jang

CIO, POBA (Korea)

“Top1000funds.com produces high quality and thoughtful journalism that frequently aids my thinking”

Tim Hodgson

co-head, Thinking Ahead Group

INVESTOR PROFILE
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Investor Profile

AIMCo enhances top down strategy function

In October 2020 AIMCo, the C$118 billion Canadian fund appointed its first chief investment strategy officer splitting the investment function between the top down strategy and bottom up implementation responsibilities. Amanda White talks to Amit Prakash about how the new function will add valuable investment insights to clients.
Amanda WhiteJune 8, 2021
Investor Profile

Future Fund sceptical on correlations

Amanda WhiteMay 17, 2021
articleInvestor Profile

NEST’s PE challenge to the industry

Amanda WhiteApril 29, 2021
articlePost-COVID economy

CalPERS CEO on the ALM challenge

Amanda WhiteApril 27, 2021
FIDUCIARY INVESTORS PODCAST SERIES
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Fiduciary Investors Series

The year ahead at CalPERS: Marcie Frost on the ALM study and hiring a new CIO

The CEO of CalPERS Marcie Frost has a big year ahead. Not only is the fund still searching for a CIO, but it will also conduct its four-yearly asset liability study this year. In this Fiduciary Investors Series episode, Marcie Frost speaks to Amanda White
 April 27, 2021
Fiduciary Investors Series

Steinem calls for urgent action on diversity

Speaking at the Top1000funds.com event, Sustainability: A planet in trouble, renowned feminist Gloria Steinem tells institutional investors it is time to ditch the labels that describe our gender, class or ethnicity and urged the investment community to l
Amanda WhiteApril 8, 2021
Fiduciary Investors Series

The spirit of green: how corporates can reduce externalities at no cost to shareholders

Nobel Prize winner Professor William Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics and Professor of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, explains his theory of ‘No Regrets’ whereby companies can integrate ESG at a level that brings real bene
April 7, 2021
Fiduciary Investors Series

The labour market is broken: why investors should care

Sharan Burrow is calling on investors to do more to fix what she calls a broken labour market. In an impassioned call to delegates at “Sustainability Digital; A Planet in Trouble,” Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confeder
April 7, 2021
SUSTAINABILITY 2020 DIGITAL EVENT: A PLANET IN TROUBLE
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articleSustainability Digital 2020

China ESG risk: the next unknown

One of the most important, upcoming challenges at CalSTRS is how the fund should evaluate Chinese investments from a human capital and environmental standpoint, says Chris Ailman, chief investment officer at the giant pension fund.
Sarah RundellSeptember 25, 2020
articleSustainability Digital 2020

AO talk manager selection and data gap

Discussing how they integrate sustainability across their portfolios investors at New York State Common Fund, PKA, and TCorp, highlight the importance of manager selection and the challenge of the data gap.
Sarah RundellSeptember 24, 2020
articleSustainability Digital 2020

PRI and the road ahead

The PRI will focus on a number of key areas in the years ahead including helping signatories invest in line with the SDGs and social issues, and pushing for more engagement. But it will also be asking for increased accountability amongst its signatories.
Sarah RundellSeptember 23, 2020
articleSustainability Digital 2020

Prepare portfolios for tipping point

Political and social systems, like physical landscapes, have non-linear dynamics that suddenly reach tipping points after which there is no going back. Investors should ready their portfolios, urges Professor Cameron Hepburn, Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Oxford.
Sarah RundellSeptember 23, 2020
articleSustainability Digital 2020

CEOs: Don’t ignore sustainability

Unilever’s former CEO Paul Polman advises CEOs pushing sustainability to treat investors and the financial markets as allies – and ignore sustainability at their peril. "You will be voted out", he warns.
Sarah RundellSeptember 22, 2020
Asset Allocation
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articlePost-COVID economy

Bridgewater’s Prince: Time to think differently in an MP3 world

Bridgewater’s co-CIO Bob Prince explains the perils of MP3 and suggests investors need to think differently, shaping strategies around cash-flow yields - connecting equity cash flows to stable sources of spending in the economy.
Sarah RundellJune 3, 2021
Asset Allocation

Biases: COVID-19 vaccines and investing in China

Liang Yin from the Thinking Ahead Institute examines omission bias as an explanation for vaccine resistance, and underweighting investments to China. He suggests a framework for overcoming this bias.
Liang YinMay 27, 2021
articleInvestor Profile

Debt concerns drive Ohio allocations

Farouki Majeed is worried about the future. His concerns are centred around the implications of the enormous US federal debt; the global competitiveness of the US and Chinese economies; inflation; and the potential erosion of the value of the US dollar.
Amanda WhiteApril 21, 2021
articleInvestor Profile

Coal moves to holistic management

The COVID crisis and the volatility of 2020 has revealed some lessons for the investment team at Coal Pension Trustees (CPT). It has taken a more top down view of managing its portfolio looking at economic themes, risk exposures, cashflows and its manager roster holistically. Amanda White talks to CIO Mark Walker about where it sees return opportunities, the prospect of manager consolidation and how it has embraced technology for better investment practices.
Amanda WhiteApril 15, 2021
Equities
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Equities

Large tech companies must be broken up

Concentrated power by monopolistic companies is a systemic problem in the US economy, according to Matt Stoller, director of research at the American Liberties Project, but investors have little power to change it.
Amanda WhiteApril 28, 2021
Equities

Has your value definition just expired?

Is book-to-price still a suitable definition of the value factor? Researchers at Scientific Beta explore the arguments for different definitions including how to account for intangible capital.
Felix Goltz and Ben LuytenAugust 4, 2020
Equities

Markets remain fragile

A risk management strategy that measures resilience and fragility of markets, protected portfolios from the wild February downswing in equity markets, and predicts more fragility to come.
Amanda WhiteMay 5, 2020
Equities

The importance of governance in a crisis

From December to mid-March of this year New Zealand Super lost 20 per cent of its assets. It’s the second time in less than 18 months the fund has experienced a significant drop in assets but in an example of how good governance and process can allow for counter cyclical behaviour the fund is now buying equities.
Amanda WhiteApril 29, 2020