The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has warned of a “material” increase in US recession risk compared to last year as the fund braces for a wider, “negatively skewed” distribution of outcomes in the next 12 months. It came as the mature plan, which is 81 per cent funded, is tilting to fixed income and new asset classes like liquid alternatives over equities.
The $US 324 billion Government Pension Fund – Global (NBIM) of Norway pushed its allocation to equities beyond 50 per cent in the course of Q1 2009 at the expense of its fixed income portfolio, maintaining a strategic bent towards a higher exposure to growth assets.
PME, the €18.8 billion (US$25.6 billion) industry-wide pension fund for the mechanical and electrical engineering sector in the Netherlands, has seen its funding ratio fall 45 per cent over the last year. Kristen Paech talks to the fund about its recovery plan, including the decision not to rebalance equities, and the benefits of using a
Sweden’s Third National Pension Fund, AP3, has rejigged its long-term strategic asset allocation and increased its exposure to alternatives. Kristen Paech talks to chief investment officer Erik Valtonen about the reasons behind the changes.
ABP, the world’s third largest pension fund, faces serious underfunding as a result of the financial crisis and will have to submit a recovery plan to De Nederlandsche Bank by March 31.
As the end of the year approaches, the issue of rebalancing for pension funds – a vexed one in the market volatility of the past year – is becoming more acute. US-based adviser Callan Associates is advising clients to depart from the normal disciplines around rebalancing in these extreme conditions.
Diversification is one of the few reliable ‘free lunches’ in asset markets. Nevertheless, investors do not always extract the best from the available benefits. Many portfolios still carry some concentrated risk exposures. And when diversification is pursued, it often occurs under the shotgun approach of increasing the number of return sources, albeit guided by a
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