State Street Global Market’s belief in inflation as the crucial economic indicator has been reflected in its research arm, State Street Associates, taking on a new partner, PriceStats, which produces daily price statistics, the first of its kind in the world. Amanda White spoke to the global head of research Jeremy Armitage. (more…)
Assuming future state contributions fund the full present value of new benefits, many US state systems will run out of money in 10-20 years. This paper argues the expected shortfalls raise the possibility that the federal government will be faced with a decision whether to bail out states driven to insolvency by their pension programs. (more…)
Swedish fund AP2 is directing its alternative asset investments into innovative joint venture company structures, in an effort to maintain a greater degree of control over real asset investments. (more…)
For wealth managers, major industry trends are transforming the old concept of outsourcing into a fundamentally new way of delivering services, with advancing technology rapidly coming on-stream to weave together client and third-party provider relationships. Now, outsourcing is rapidly gaining traction as wealth managers are taking a longer look at how leveraging external resources can help them squeeze more value than ever from their business operations.
Timber is increasingly attractive for institutional investors as part of an alternatives exposure, with benefits including diversification and inflation-hedging. To date most of the investments have been in the US, but a new report predicts this will move to emerging countries including those in Asia, with consultants advising investors spread their timber exposures to capture growth opportunities.
Danish Pension Fund PFA — having survived the financial crisis and boasting a remarkable funding level of 191 per cent — is now providing both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes and offering its investment skills to external clients. (more…)