Germany’s €70 billion pension provider VBL is increasing its diversification, notably investing in overseas real estate outside Germany for the first time. It's also increasing its tilt to international equities over European stocks, enabled by an organisational and investment process overhaul.
From December to mid-March of this year New Zealand Super lost 20 per cent of its assets. It’s the second time in less than 18 months the fund has experienced a significant drop in assets but in an example of how good governance and process can allow for counter cyclical behaviour the fund is now buying equities.
The current coronavirus crisis has exposed many weaknesses, one of them being the chronic under-investment in social infrastructure in most countries – developed and emerging. So what can be done to make this more attractive for investors and meet the need?
Defensive equity investment strategies are nothing new, but a key issue with many is that defensive does not necessarily mean low volatility. Scientific Beta looks at a strategy to target both goals, using robust low volatility controls to create a new defensive index for the volatility-averse investor.
The French SWF, FRR, is preparing to invest more in equities and illiquid assets as important reforms extend its time horizon. With the coronavirus crisis delaying the asset allocation decisions the fund is operating in an "intermediate context", slowly shifting out of bonds and into equities.
The efforts to open private markets to retail investors will continue and appear to be progressing. The potential scale of capital is both a blessing and a curse to those who absorb it. The private equity market is already bifurcating, when the retail capital arrives, much of it will likely be deployed into the deep end of the market, with the ultimate result likely being public returns earned privately.
Nearly 10 years ago Lorelei Graye was part of the team at South Carolina that pushed for private market reporting transparency. That experience has motivated her to be a part of the solution in heading up the ADS Initiative to develop global data standards for private capital. We look at the journey to get there.
Top1000funds.com is the market leading news and analysis site for the world’s largest institutional investors. It focuses on leading the global investment industry to continuous improvement through case studies of best practice in governance and decision making, portfolio construction and efficient portfolio management, fees and costs, and sustainable investing.
The publication pushes the industry to question whether status quo processes and behaviours to tackle risks and opportunities will be sufficient in the future, and actively campaigns for diversity, sustainability, transparency, innovation and better alignment of fees in the investment industry.
Top1000funds.com is read by investment professionals in more than 40 countries.
Featured Story