Investor Profile
Bridgewater and UTIMCO talk China
The $41 billion University of Texas Investment Management has been investing in China since 2007 and its CIO, Britt Harris says it “must be taken seriously”. Presenting at the endowment's board meeting, co-CIO of Bridgewater, Bob Prince, agreed, saying “China is too big to avoid”.
Sarah RundellOctober 17, 2019
Opinion
Clearing the climate obstacles
In the wake of the Climate Action 100+ annual progress report, CEO of the PRI, Fiona Reynolds calls on corporate boards to step up. And the first action item is to either transform the industry associations they belong to that undermine climate action, or resign from them.
Fixed Income
OTPP bucks trend, keeps buying bonds
Just as some of the world’s largest pensions funds sell down their fixed income holdings in favour of equities and private assets, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has been buying more in 2019 as it seeks to rebalance the portfolio in the event of an economic downturn.
FIS Harvard 2019
Healthcare’s multiple opportunities
William Haseltine had a long career at Harvard Medical School, educating a generation of doctors, and designing the strategy to develop the first treatment for HIV/AIDS. He addressed the Fiduciary Investors Symposium about important topics in medicine and health development.
FIS Harvard 2019
Threats to equity bond correlation
A full-blown trade war, and changes in monetary policy triggered by a loss of credibility in the Federal Reserve and other global policy institutions, could result in a return of the positive correlation between bonds and stocks, and investors need to be aware of the risk, warned Luis Viceira, George E. Bates Professor in the Finance Unit and Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education at Harvard Business School, at the Fiduciary Investors’ Symposium at Harvard University.
FIS Harvard 2019
Inequality risk equal to climate change
Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University who co-teaches Reimagining Capitalism at HBS, says inequality is equal to climate risk in its potential impact. She told delegates at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Harvard University when a system no longer generates freedom and prosperity it must be changed. Change is possible because we have the resources and technology to do it. A first move is decent jobs for people at the “bottom”.
Sarah RundellOctober 14, 2019
FIS Harvard 2019
We are going to live longer; prepare now
Understanding the economic implications of changing demographics is essential for investors, said Aubrey de Grey, a biomedical gerontologist speaking at the Fiduciary Investors' Symposium at Harvard University
He said the technology exists today so that the ageing process can be combated and people will live much longer in the future than what they do today, so really “longevity is a side effect of health”. He urged investors to think about how people living longer will affect consumer behaviour and investee companies.
Sarah RundellOctober 14, 2019
FIS Harvard 2019
Investors want resilient portfolios
Pension fund CIOs want resilient portfolios that can weather all environments, delegates heard at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Harvard University.
Sarah JonesOctober 11, 2019
Investor Profile
Wisconsin’s data solution
David Villa, CIO of the $110 billion State of Wisconsin Investment Board is worried about the outlook for returns. As a result he’s significantly underweight sovereign bonds in favour of cash. But he’s also positioning the organisation to do better analytics for more complicated portfolios, another result of a low return environment. The fund is working on at least five data and technology projects and has hired a chief technology and operations officer.
Amanda WhiteOctober 5, 2019
Sustainability
NYC Retirement Systems’ S in ESG
Speaking at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Harvard University, John Adler, mayor’s trustee and advisor to the other mayoral appointees at New York City’s $200 billion five retirement systems, highlighted the critical role investors play in protecting workers’ rights and ensuring a just transition as the global economy adapts to the implications of climate change.
Sarah RundellOctober 8, 2019
Sustainability
More work needed on climate integration
There has been widespread adoption and more board engagement since the launch of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommendations in 2017 but more work is needed to get a uniform and comparable approach to climate change disclosure across the investment community.
Sarah JonesSeptember 27, 2019
Sustainability
Investors cluster around AI SDG platform
A growing number of influential asset owners have expressed interest in a new sustainable development investment (SDI) Asset Owner Investor Platform launched by Dutch funds APG and PGGM. The AI-driven technology sifts through reams of structured and unstructured data to gauge the extent to which companies’ products and activities meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Sarah RundellSeptember 25, 2019
Sustainability
Remaking markets one portfolio at a time
This week SASB and Bloomberg launched some new indexes - Bloomberg SASB ESG equity index for US large cap equity, and the Bloomberg SASB ESG fixed income index for investment-grade corporate bonds - to help investors track companies and create sustainable, long-term value in a way that supports their fiduciary responsibilities. Director of capital markets policy and outreach at SASB, Janine Guillot explains.
Janine GuillotSeptember 24, 2019
Asset Classes
Strategic factor investing
Institutional investors should consider factor investing as a strategic decision, according to a new paper from Dirk Broeders at Maastricht University and Kristy Jansen from Tilburg University.
Amanda WhiteOctober 4, 2019
Asset Classes
Swiss plump for alternatives
The Swiss pension sector has always been characterised by a balanced investment mix but an important trend is emerging - funds are increasing their allocations to alternatives.
Heinz RothacherOctober 1, 2019
Asset Classes
Texas’ ERS eyes hedge fund start-ups
The Employees Retirement System of Texas is looking to allocate more capital to start-up hedge funds and take ownership stakes after backing Cinctive Capital Management in New York.
Sarah JonesSeptember 26, 2019
Asset Classes
Is factor investing still working?
A large number of long-only multi-factor strategies have performed disappointingly over the past three years. Some have called into question the usefulness of solutions based on factor diversification but recent research by EDHEC suggests this doesn’t hold up against an even remotely serious investigation.
Daniel Aguet, Noël Amenc and Felix GoltzSeptember 20, 2019
FIS Cambridge '19
What can the past teach us?
Institutional investors' investment strategy should be serving the China middle class and the dislocation from within Asia, according to Stephen Kotkin,Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University speaking at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Cambridge University. He explored what the geopolitical conflicts of the past can teach us about the future. He looked at some of the key points in history, how China, the European Union and the US have survived, and what it means for the future.
Amanda WhiteMay 17, 2019
FIS Stanford
FIS Stanford Photo Gallery
View photos from the 2018 Fiduciary Investors Symposium, held at Stanford University, United States.
Dorian SimesAugust 29, 2019
FIS Stanford
FIS Stanford Photo Gallery
View photos from the 2018 Fiduciary Investors Symposium, held at Stanford University, United States.
Amanda WhiteOctober 22, 2018
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
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.
Sarah RundellOctober 12, 2018
Asset Allocation
SWFs act LT, and collaborate, to thrive
SWFs are long-term investors and will weather whatever storm is coming, says Majed Al Romaithi, chair of IFSWF and executive director of the strategy and planning department at ADIA, who also encouraged investors to consider risk in a more “sophisticated” way.
Amanda WhiteSeptember 16, 2019
Asset Allocation
Climate needs response at SAA level
Investors should use the strategic asset allocation process to adjust their portfolios to plug the SDGs and climate finance gap, according to an expert panel at PRI in Person.
Sarah RundellSeptember 13, 2019
Asset Allocation
Hiding behind diversification
Modern portfolio theory has created the impression that diversification is always a good thing, but asset owners could benefit from a more sceptical attitude. This article suggests over-diversification favours managers at the expense of returns to investors.
Phil EdwardsSeptember 6, 2019
Asset Allocation
Texas Teachers revamps AA, adds leverage
The board of the $154 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas has approved changes to its strategic asset allocation as a result of its latest five-year study, increasing its allocation to private markets, risk parity and introducing leverage.
Amanda WhiteAugust 22, 2019
Strategy
The impact of technology on investments
Harshal Chaudhari recently sidestepped from his role as company-wide CIO at IBM, looking after $150 billion in pension assets, to a new role as the tech giant’s chief analytics officer. He spoke to Top1000Funds about the strategy he ran at the pension fund, his wider thoughts on the global economy and the impact of technology on the investment world.
Sarah RundellAugust 6, 2019
Strategy
Risk aversion matters: life-cycle design
A key issue in life-cycle fund design is setting the right ‘glide path’ for switching from growth to defensive assets over time. As it turns out, risk aversion is far more important than pension fund balance. New research raises a note of caution over offering a single, one-size-fits-all life-cycle fund.
Geoff WarrenJuly 30, 2019
Strategy
Tough times greet new CalPERS CIO
Ben Meng isn’t easing into his role. The new CIO of CalPERS faces three new board members, a stressed private equity program and executive turnover, all under the pressure of a 70 per cent funded status and a maturing membership at the $340 billion fund.
Sarah RundellFebruary 26, 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
