URS bets on nuclear to power AI and lower emissions

Next-generation nuclear energy, and the money pouring into it, will truly change the world, according to CIO of Utah Retirement System John Skjervem. It’s a lonely position as the CIO of a public pension fund but one Utah is embracing as it builds out early-stage investments in nuclear energy as part of its alternative energy portfolio. He speaks to Sarah Rundell in an exclusive interview about how investing in transformational energy technologies can be part of prudent investment management.

Managing volatility and inflation: Constant rebalancing shores up UK’s lifeboat fund

A keen focus on rebalancing, and best in class systems, allows the UK’s £31.2 billion Pension Protection Fund to effectively implement a dynamic hedging strategy for one of the UK’s biggest LDI portfolios. Sarah Rundell reports.

Velliv reset: More Danish funds lean into low cost DC model

In Denmark’s fiercely competitive commercial pension industry, Velliv was quick to take action with a root-and-branch overhaul of its pension provision when it experienced a drop in returns in the first half of 2024. It sacked its active equity managers, scaling up internal active strategies and low-cost, index-based investments instead, and stopped allocating to its $4.3 billion alternatives allocation. Thor Schultz Christensen, deputy chief investment officer at Velliv, unpacks the change.

Ohio sounds warning bells on PE liquidity logjam

Farouki Majeed, chief investment officer of the $23 billion Ohio School Employees Retirement System, has highlighted worrying signs in private equity that resulted from a backlog of exits, including industry murmurs that some GPs are having to borrow money to operate their business because LP fees are drying up. In an interview with Top1000funds.com, Majeed unpacks why its 12 per cent PE allocation is shielded from the rout.

Temasek likely to miss 2030 climate target dragged by aviation, energy investments

Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay says the sovereign investor is likely to miss its 2030 interim climate target, as exposures to the aviation and power generation sectors are crimping the investor’s ability to reduce portfolio target emissions. But the $339 billion fund is sticking to its net zero by 2050 goal, stressing the slower decarbonisation pace “reflects the realities of the broader global economy.”