A rigorous debate between staff, consultant and investment committee has resulted in the $224-billion CalPERS deciding to fund an allocation to hedge funds from its global equities allocation, using futures to neutralise the policy allocation, rather than have a separate strategic asset class. But the strategy is on watch, and will be reviewed mid-next year. (more…)
APG, one of the world’s largest institutional investors, has released a corporate governance policy in which it makes clear that the boards of companies must take sustainability, shareholder and stakeholder interests into account when making decisions. (more…)
Australian pension funds will face a greater scrutiny of their corporate governance and risk management policies that will impact investment decisions in sweeping government changes released yesterday. (more…)
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) released principles for regulation and supervision of commodity derivatives markets last week. Effective supervision of these markets is necessary to avoid even the prospect that derivatives contribute to speculative price bubbles in commodities, which can increase the number of people driven into hunger. (more…)
The $18.2 billion Australian superannuation fund, Sunsuper, is gradually lowering its exposure to domestic equities and moving into emerging markets. The fund’s chief investment officer, David Hartley, says the move is being driven by concerns about concentration in the local share market and the potential impact that proposed reforms to Australia’s pension industry – the world’s fourth biggest – could have on equity prices. (more…)
The International Corporate Governance Network’s (ICGN) first board appointee from the Middle East, Dr Nasser Saidi, says he wants to push for a new focus on emerging markets within the investor-led organisation that represents more than $18 trillion of assets. (more…)