Dry up: how investors assess water risks

The world is running short of water, but what does that mean for investors? Asset owners in the Netherlands and Norway assess and manage the water-related risks in their portfolios, including the measurement of portfolio companies’ water dependence and water security. The drought hitting South Africa’s North West Province sounds another warning shot around the … Read more

Longevity storm in Nedlloyd’s cruise to safety

Setting a strategy to keep an ageing pension fund in fine health is “a lot more challenging than selecting where to invest premiums flowing into a young fund,” reflects Frans Dooren, chief investment officer of the Nedlloyd Pension Fund. Dooren began to skipper investment strategy at the €1.2-billion ($1.6-billion) fund in 2011, taking over after … Read more

Serving itself: why the financial services industry needs reform

What would the financial services industry look like if it was structured to service the non-financial services sector, rather than itself? Economist John Kay, author of the Kay Review into short termism in UK equity markets, aims to find out.   In an ideal world there would be one, maybe two, intermediaries between the saver … Read more

Penny Green: London’s lady of the long term

When Penny Green joined the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL) as chief executive in 1998, the multi-employer defined benefit scheme had £790 million ($1.27 billion) assets under management and two asset managers. Sixteen years later the pooled fund now manages assets for 49 employers in higher education institutions including the University of … Read more

Lepelmeier: interest rates ruin German strategy

German institutional investors face an urgent need to reconsider their bond-heavy investment strategies, argues Dirk Lepelmeier, a former investment head at one of the country’s largest pension funds. Herr Prof Dr Dirk Lepelmeier, to use his appropriate German titles, would rather be addressed as Dirk. That might be of no surprise to many, but it … Read more

The Finnish line: Varma tackles low interest

The scourge of low interest rates looks likely to be confronting investors for at least a little longer after Washington’s budgetary shenanigans delayed the Federal Reserve’s plans to taper quantitative easing. Over in the more sedate surroundings of Helsinki, this is keeping the pressure on the investment policy of Varma, a €36-billion ($49-billion) Finnish pension … Read more