Lessons in governance at Alaska’s APFC
At a recent board meeting, trustees at Alaska's sovereign wealth fund APFC garnered insights on governance from recent turmoil at PSERS' and Ohio State Teachers.
Institutional investors have played down the impact that President Trump's executive order to limit the power of proxy advisors will have on their investment processes, with pension funds suggesting proxy inputs only form a part of their voting decisions. However, the development feeds into an ongoing crimping of investor power.
At a recent board meeting, trustees at Alaska's sovereign wealth fund APFC garnered insights on governance from recent turmoil at PSERS' and Ohio State Teachers.
London-based AustralianSuper deputy CIO Damian Moloney oversees the global expansion plans of Australia’s largest superannuation fund. While a global presence has clear benefits for the fund and its members, Moloney’s advice to others contemplating the same is to plan extensively and build early.
New Zealand Super’s new chief executive Jo Townsend inherits an organisation with a strong culture but facing some challenges posed by rapid growth. An internal project aims to reduce complexity and focus on simplicity for a fund already rated by WTW as operating at global best practice levels.
Sweden’s largest pension fund, the $126 billion Alecta, has spent much of the last year continuing to work on improving governance, risk management, competence and culture in the wake of a $2 billion loss in 2023 attributable to investments in US regional banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, turning sour.
The UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves just returned from a trip to Toronto where was gleaning ideas from Maple 8 bosses on how to emulate a “Canadian style” pension model. But it will require a governance overhaul to create a Maple 8 in the UK.
The semi annual report of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is testament to its commitment to transparency, unambiguously outlining the half year results which came in 0.04% under benchmark. The fund did benefit from a nearly 15% exposure to tech stocks, but was let down by returns in renewable energy infrastructure.
Governance