Bob Prince, co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater, says that institutional investors should consider diversification in the context of different economic exposures which could manifest in splitting portfolio allocations to the east and west. He advocates looking at diversification through the lens of macroeconomic conditions and cashflows related to the differences in economic regimes around the world.
Active investing in US large caps has detracted value from US pension fund portfolios and exposures should be indexed, according to new research by CEM Benchmarking. This could result in huge cost savings and have implications for how pension funds spend their active budget.
The Future Fund is adding risk to its portfolio, and focusing on liquidity, as part of a part of an ongoing strategy to free up more capital in the portfolio in the event of a drawdown. It is in the midst of selling off a “large slice” of private equity assets on the secondary market and has bought listed equities in emerging markets in the past year.
Governance and culture considerations among the largest 100 asset owners need to be improved according to the Willis Towers Watson Thinking Ahead Institute second Asset Owner 100 study. These asset owners account for 35 per cent of total asset owner capital with combined assets of $19 trillion.
A year ago, the Alaska Permanent Fund appointed its first chief risk and compliance officer, Sebastian Vadakumcherry. With current investment conditions, and a move to a more conservative outlook, the relationship between Vadakumcherry and CIO, Marcus Frampton is proving its worth. We look at the fund’s approach to risk, its outlook for capital markets, and how data will give it an edge.
A global working group of pension experts critiqued the Australian system at the recent ICPM meeting in Sydney. They emphasised a desperate need for the system to move from accumulation to retirement income, reduce complexity, focus on retirees (not 40-year olds) and be holistic. After all, they said, the purpose of a pension system is about paying pensions not investment.
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