Organisational Design
Creating safe zones for team decisions
Making your team a psychological safe zone for disagreement and diverse opinions is a step in the right direction to making better team decisions. So what does a psychological safe zone look like?
Amanda WhiteApril 24, 2019
Organisational Design
Financial professionals should leverage
Financial professionals must learn to leverage disruption so that it can be used to clearly establish our purpose and our value to our clients and our investors. CFA Institute's CEO Paul Smith argues we should not fear it, nor should we fight it.
Investor Profile
Pioneering Dutch fund builds SDG index
The €21 billion Dutch pension fund, Detailhandel, is the first pension fund to incorporate SDGs into a simple developed market index.
Investor Profile
Oregon makes fees work
The $77. 3 billion Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund has continued to achieve top decile returns at the same time as de-risking and reconstituting half its giant portfolio.
Sustainability
NY State Common’s climate plan
The New York State Common Decarbonization Advisory Panel, set up to advise the Comptroller, as trustee of the $209.1 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, on how best to mitigate investment risks stemming from climate change and maximise opportunities from the new, low-carbon economy, has handed down its report this week. It has clear lessons for all asset owners.
FIS Cambridge '19
There’s alpha in Chinese equities
The returns of long-term investors are driven by economic growth so it is difficult to ignore China as a big part of the future investment opportunities, a panel of experts told delegates at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium.
Amanda WhiteApril 18, 2019
Asset Allocation
Strategic tilting adds value at NZ Super
Strategic tilting has added 1.1 per cent, or NZ$3 billion, to the New Zealand Super Fund’s reference portfolio over the past 10 years, David Iverson, head of asset allocation at the NZ$41 billion fund says. This is way above the expected return from the program which was set at around 40 basis points.
Amanda WhiteApril 17, 2019
FIS Cambridge '19
FIS Cambridge 2019: wrap up
The Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Cambridge University brought together more than 70 asset owners from 15 countries to discuss asset owners responsibility to engage with policymakers, barriers to long term investing and risks including ESG, climate and cyber security. Brett Himbury, chief executive of IFM Investors revealed how an asset manager defines its behaviours and […]
Amanda WhiteApril 11, 2019
Investor Profile
Future Fund appoints third deputy CIO
The Future Fund has appointed Sue Brake to the role of deputy CIO, portfolio strategy as part of the revamp of the $145 billion sovereign wealth fund’s investment team. She joins Wendy Norris deputy CIO for private markets and David George who is deputy CIO for public markets.
Elizabeth FryApril 4, 2019
Sustainability
Climate change risk to spur stress test
Mercer has quantified a ‘low-carbon transition’ premium in the sequel to its seminal climate change report, showing that a 2⁰C scenario equates to 11 basis points per annum to 2030 in a typical growth portfolio. Further, investors with the same asset allocation but greater exposure to sustainability and the companies delivering the transition solutions, could […]
Elizabeth FryApril 9, 2019
Sustainability
At a glance: FIS Cambridge day one
The first day of the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Cambridge University, which brought together more than 70 asset owners from 15 countries, centred around asset owners responsibility to engage with policymakers, the integration of ESG and the sustainable development goals as well as barriers to long term investing.
Amanda WhiteApril 8, 2019
Sustainability
A practical guide to the long-term
Thinking and acting long-term and holding their service providers to account on long-term risk behaviours and measures, is one of asset owners’ most enduring challenges. Speaking at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Cambridge University a panel of experts highlighted important tools asset owners can deploy to ensure they stay focused on the long-term.
Sarah RundellApril 8, 2019
Sustainability
Dutch fund prioritises labour rights
The €9 billion ($10 billion) Dutch fund for disabled workers, PWRI, has introduced a proprietary index that tilts towards companies that prioritise workers’ rights and health and safety issues. It’s a revolutionary approach to reflect the fund’s distinctive ESG priorities and a guide for other investors wanting to prioritise the “s” in ESG.
Sarah RundellMarch 26, 2019
Asset Classes
OTPP boosts bonds, late cycle protection
OTPP increased its bond allocation from 22 to 31 per cent last year. The defensive strategy was aimed at taking advantage of rising yields in fixed income markets and protecting the portfolio from a potential economic slowdown given the late cycle and decade-long economic expansion.
Sarah RundellApril 6, 2019
Asset Classes
Oregon’s real estate revamp
Oregon State Treasury has de-risked its $12 billion real estate allocation, moving away from closed end, private equity-style investment and its associated inherent cyclical risk and total return focus. Building in more liquidity and transparency, reduced volatility and lowered fees via evergreen manager partnerships in separate account and open-end fund structures.
Sarah RundellApril 2, 2019
Asset Classes
Investors mull UK equity tilt on Brexit
Senior investment director on Cambridge Associates' global investment research team, Michael Salerno, analyses the impact of Brexit on UK equities, the British pound and tactical asset allocation.
Michael SalernoMarch 27, 2019
Asset Classes
Private equity delivers for NYC funds
In an investment milestone, each private equity allocation for the five pension funds that comprise New York City Retirement Funds experienced net internal rates of return (IRR) of over 10 per cent since inception in the third quarter of last year.
Amanda WhiteMarch 25, 2019
FIS Stanford
Rise of the unicorns: venture capital
The increase in privately held start-ups has piqued interest in venture-capital markets. The opportunities are there but investors must realise that technological innovation has changed the game.
Sarah RundellOctober 18, 2018
FIS Stanford
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.
Sarah RundellOctober 12, 2018
FIS Stanford
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.
Sarah RundellOctober 12, 2018
FIS Stanford
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.
Sarah RundellOctober 11, 2018
FIS Stanford
CalPERS shake-up may delay PE plans
The surprise ousting of CalPERS board president Priya Mathur heralds a leadership shake-up that could place final approval of an expanded private equity program on hold.
Sarah RundellOctober 9, 2018
Asset Allocation
Geopolitics: portfolio implications
For most investors recognising whether geopolitical tensions are a short term blip, or a long-term systemic shift is key to understanding how those risks inform investment decisions. Amanda White spoke to investors about the impact of geopolitical risk on their portfolios.
Amanda WhiteMarch 21, 2019
Asset Allocation
UK’s CEPB favours private markets
The UK’s £2 billion Church of England Pension Board, the pension fund for church clergy has changed strategy, slashing its equity portfolio in favour of private markets in a bid to seek stronger returns, income and a shelter from equity volatility.
Sarah RundellMarch 19, 2019
Asset Allocation
Geopolitics: risk or opportunity?
The challenge around geopolitical risk is determining how sustained or long-lasting any particular risk is. Angela Rodell, CEO of Alaska Permanent sees opportunity in having a view of the world.
Amanda WhiteMarch 15, 2019
Asset Allocation
Factors are useless without the research
Product providers cite all manner of factors behind the performance of their products but unless those factors adhere to what academics have replicated and standardised, it’s folly for investors to expect persistent returns from them.
Felix Goltz and Ben LuytenFebruary 27, 2019
Strategy
Value lies where precious data is stored
Organisations across the globe are collecting data, analysing and re-analysing it more and more every day. As this trend continues, data infrastructure – tangible or intangible – becomes increasingly attractive. Canada’s OPTrust cites this reality as the rationale behind the EdgeCore partnership. It thinks data is its own asset class.
James DavisFebruary 25, 2019
Strategy
Asset owners’ climate-change advice
A new guide, Climate Change for Asset Owners, provides case studies and other practical advice for how to get investor organisations focused on climate change, how to craft a related investment strategy and how to implement it. The publication includes content from 10 asset owners.
Amanda WhiteFebruary 6, 2019
Strategy
Dutch trio launches PE co-investment
The Netherlands’ Achmea Investment Management, Blue Sky Group and SPF Beheer have teamed up on a joint investment platform designed to lower fees and expand opportunities in private equity. Jos van Gisbergen, senior portfolio manager for private equity at Achmea, explains how it works.
Sarah RundellJanuary 31, 2019
Strategy
2018 CIO sentiment survey
The annual Chief Investment Officer Sentiment Survey, conducted by www.top1000funds.com and Casey Quirk, a practice of Deloitte Consulting, has revealed a global asset owner community that is less tolerant of risk and more interested in negotiating fees.
Amanda WhiteJanuary 31, 2019