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Future Fund adds risk and liquidity

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.

Alaska focuses on risk, cautious outlook

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.

Global critique calls for Aussie reform

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.

Washington State’s secret sauce

A big contributor to the long-term top decile performance of the Washington State Investment Board has been its high allocation to private markets. But it is not just the high allocation that sets the fund apart from its peers, it’s also the nature of the relationships with its GPs. Amanda White speaks to retiring CIO Gary Bruebaker about the fund's secret sauce.

Denmark’s Sampension favours CLOs

Sampension, the DKK325.6 billion labour-market Danish pension fund has found a rich seam investing in AAA-rated CLOs where it earns a pick-up from traditional fixed income in loans with low default rates. The head of credit Anders Tauber Lassen says the fund feels "quite comfortable taking this type of risk".

Looking less at the scoreboard

Traditional performance monitoring reports do more harm than good, argues Phil Edwards, who suggests a more effective monitoring framework shifts the focus away from performance numbers and towards the fundamental characteristics of the stocks held in the portfolio, perhaps borrowing some elements from private markets.