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Investor Profile

USS powers into diversity

In the past few years the £34-billion ($54.7 billion) Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has substantially diversified its asset allocation, including a large alternatives allocation, and extended its investment team from 65 to 105. In the latest chapter of the fund’s investment department reincarnation, from October this year a separate but fully owned USS company, USS […]
FIS Santa Monica 2012

Klinck: we don’t need any more product

The investment and pension industry has created too much complexity and added too many costs, and must move towards more simplicity, executive vice president and member of the management committee of State Street, Jack Klinck, told delegates in an opening address at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium in Santa Monica. Klinck observed four mega trends in […]
Uncategorised posts

Aligning asset owners and managers

Delegation is a fundamental obstacle to the alignment of asset-owner and asset-manager goals. However, Sebastien Pouget, professor of finance at the University of Toulouse, believes a combination of customised performance benchmarks and a dual short and long-term fee incentive can help overcome the problems of the principal/agent relationship. Pouget, who spoke at the recent United […]
Uncategorised posts

Danish pension is gold

Denmark has blitzed the pension-system competition, being awarded the first Mercer Global Pension Index A grading. In the process, it has relegated the Dutch and Australian systems to second and third places, respectively, after four years. Mercer senior partner and report author, David Knox, says the reasons for awarding Denmark the top grade were clear. […]
Investor Profile

Postcard from Japan

For many years Japan has been an insurance-market behemoth and Japan Post Insurance Company is one of the giants with $1.13 trillion. But the industry has not been immune to change. Between 1997 and 2001 seven life insurance companies became insolvent, and there is a question mark over whether it was a low interest-rate environment […]
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