US endowment returns rocket on SpaceX windfall
Early venture bets on SpaceX have ballooned into major portfolio positions at some US university endowments, with new analysis estimating the aerospace firm contributed as much as 10.6 percentage points to annual returns. Michael Markov, founder of US quantitative researcher Markov Processes International, says the windfall is now creating a concentration risk that investors cannot ignore.
Private equity: As carry sinks, pension funds are winning the talent war
A slowdown in private equity fundraising and shrinking carry payouts are pushing experienced professionals towards pension funds, handing institutional investors an unexpected recruitment advantage. Sarah Rundell looks at the funds in hiring mode and how demand for people experienced in fund, co-investment and secondaries remains buoyant.
Are Canada’s pension bosses paid too much?
Canada’s public pension funds pay their executives huge salaries. But as performance continues to trail benchmarks, salary levels are coming under more scrutiny. Sarah Rundell takes a deep dive into the complex world of how to incentivise and reward pension fund executives.
TfL Pension Fund: A bespoke benchmark in Bridgewater mandate strikes gold
Transport for London Pension Fund styled a bespoke benchmark to gold in its Pure Alpha mandate with Bridgewater. It has added hundreds of millions of pounds to the portfolio, says chief investment officer Padmesh Shukla. In a wide-ranging conversation, he also explains the rationale for reducing equity to just 18 per cent of the total fund and why emerging markets aren’t offering the diversification or returns they used to.
How private credit investors are preparing for software’s AI reckoning
As the private credit industry matures, the first real stress tests are emerging – from AI-exposed software loans to eroding covenants in megadeals. Institutional investors are responding by rethinking where the illiquidity premium justifies the risk.
The Asset Owner Directory is an interactive tool to give readers an insight into the world of global asset owners. It includes key information for the largest asset owners around the world such as key personnel, asset allocation and performance.
| Fund Name | Country | AUM ($B) | Articles | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Harvard Management Company (Harvard University Investment) | United States | $57 | 22 | View Info |
UNC Management Company | United States | $12 | 1 | View Info |
Stanford Management Company (SMC) | United States | $48 | 2 | View Info |
Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS) | Canada | $106 | 34 | View Info |
Texas ERS reallocates to managers to help navigate concentrated equity market
Texas ERS’ CIO David Veal says the fund is re-allocating around a quarter of its public equity portfolio to external managers, away from the internal team. ERS plans to upsize with existing fundamental mandates but also allocate to new incremental relationships with diversifying strategies.
Impact investing’s case for scale
Impact investing has come a long way in the past two decades, going from a niche strategy to a $1.5 trillion industry, but there are still challenges for it to reach institutional scale due to the lack of products and insufficient evidence of outperformance in some parts of the market.
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
The Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Stanford University celebrates the fast-moving change taking place in economies and communities and will examine the impact of innovation on our lives, workplaces and investments.
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
This event looks at the challenges long-term investors face in an environment of disruption including ongoing geopolitical risk and shifts in global economy dynamics. By accessing faculty of England’s most esteemed university, this event will leave investors empowered to tackle disruption in their portfolios and working lives.
La Caisse’s oil exit pays off as renewables portfolio pulls ahead of fossil fuels
Divesting from the oil sector has been a boon for La Caisse’s performance, as the Canadian pension giant says its energy investments have earned billions in value-add compared to the benchmark since the inception of its climate strategy. Head of sustainability Bertrand Millot unpacks the fund’s approach in an interview with Top1000funds.com.
China in ‘very precarious’ position as debt strains investment-led growth model
Michael Pettis, leading expert on China’s economy and financial markets, says investors should be concerned about the nation’s record total-debt-to-GDP ratio as it threatens to strangle the investment-led economic growth model it has maintained for decades. In the latest episode of the Top1000funds.com podcast, Pettis unpacks why China’s pivot to a consumption-led society will be painful.
CPP Investments, NBIM reflect on lessons from a 5-year transparency journey
The Global Pension Transparency Benchmark has been a driving force in improved transparency of disclosures and reporting among global asset owners. As the project comes to its close after five years, two leading funds reflect on why transparency has been a clear focus for their organisations.
Falling dollar dents Canadian pension returns; triggers hedging rethink
A weakening US dollar has eaten into the returns of Canada’s largest pension funds as annual reports revealed the currency shock forced a fundamental rethink from some investors around hedging practices. OMERS has pivoted from a policy hedging target to a more flexible approach fulfilling multiple objectives, while OTPP more than halved its US dollar exposure in 2025.
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Ohio STRS warns of higher US recession risk; prioritises liquidity
The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has warned of a “material” increase in US recession risk compared to last year as the fund braces for a wider, “negatively skewed” distribution of outcomes in the next 12 months. It came as the mature plan, which is 81 per cent funded, is tilting to fixed income and new asset classes like liquid alternatives over equities.
Rest Super’s selective approach to PE pays off as program comes of age
A concentrated bet on fewer, better GP relationships is paying off for one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds. Built on selective manager and deal selection rather than a broad roster, the A$112 billion ($78 billion) Rest Super delivered private equity returns more than double the peer average last financial year, as the fund proactively courts top-tier PE firms instead of waiting to be approached.
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