US tech mega caps are grappling with surging capital expenditure, casting doubt on whether the premium attached to these stocks in the AI super cycle has become detached from fundamentals. Investors are now turning their attention to emerging markets equities where they have the opportunity to buy into the AI hype at a much lower price.
2020 was by just about any measure, unprecedented. Market volatility, regulatory change and the need to make decisions quickly – but largely remotely – put more emphasis than ever on dynamic and effective decision-making in pension investment committees. It was a true test of robust governance.
The big macro changes that have taken place over the last year require a rethink and action from investment professionals.
The COVID crisis and the volatility of 2020 has revealed some lessons for the investment team at Coal Pension Trustees (CPT). It has taken a more top down view of managing its portfolio looking at economic themes, risk exposures, cashflows and its manager roster holistically. Amanda White talks to CIO Mark Walker about where it sees return opportunities, the prospect of manager consolidation and how it has embraced technology for better investment practices.
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The challenge of matching long-term investing with development needs in emerging and developing countries is discussed by Georg Inderst who suggests it might be time for asset owners to look at their role in blended finance.
The world of zero interest rates presents a number of investment challenges and in our view calls for new ways of thinking in order to create new betas, new alphas, and new ways of constructing portfolios.
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FIS 2026 at Harvard University