Investors are watching conflict in the Middle East closely as inflationary pressures begin to build beneath the surface. One of the challenges for many investors is reduced exposure to the hedging benefits of fossil fuels in listed, and private markets.
Understanding the fractious relationship between US and China is more important– and simultaneously more confronting – than it has been in the past, according to Stephen Kotkin, professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University. While the China investment challenge has always been to capture the aspirational middleclass, the high-profile historian says “the big money that’s going to be made in China is going to be made from the dislocation”.
A knowledge exchange between the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and its manager, Parametric, has seen the fund become comfortable understanding the instruments involved to manage a chunk of its total levered allocation in-house.
Are private equity mega funds in a category by themselves? Cambridge Associate's Andrea Auerbach argues they are, but not for the reasons that investors may think.
In an overhaul of investments impacting almost every asset class, Spain’s largest corporate pension fund, is looking to increase diversification and improve its ESG ratings. It’s decreased equities in favour of US government bonds as part of a strategy to protect the portfolio in a potential downturn, this strategy also includes tail risk hedging, currency hedging and slashing its hedge funds allocation.
Innovation is usually viewed by economists as a productivity-enhancing force, powering economic growth in modern capitalist societies. But damage can also be done by innovations, especially in the financial sector where agency issues create the potential for negligence and rent extraction. A more cautious perspective might help investors and policymakers better manage the risks that inevitably accompany financial innovations and contribute to more stable and efficient markets.
ATP is one of only five pension funds globally to officially adopt the FX Global Code by signing the “statement of commitment to the FX global code”. Thomas Bengtsson, senior portfolio manager at ATP and the fund’s representative on the Scandinavian FX Committee, explains why it is important for the fund.
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.
Risk