Having moved its strategy to a more defensive position in the lead up to the global financial crisis, Cbus, the A$13 billion (US$10.4 billion) Australian pension fund for the construction and building industry, is preparing to put risk back on the table. Kristen Paech talks to investments and governance manager, Trish Donohue about how the fund has dealt with the adverse markets and liquidity stresses facing pension funds globally.
Tony Rocker, partner global head of infrastructure funds at
KPMG in the UK,
reviews infrastructure funds in light of the current market downturn and
concludes that, with a little realism and improved transparency, the sector can look
forward to a sound future.
The NT$700 billion ($21 billion) Taiwanese Labor Pension Fund is tendering for Asia ex-Japan and global equities mandates, with a combined asset value of $1.2 billion, for its new and old pension funds in what is the first overseas discretionary search for this year.
South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF), the $25 billion Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), has signed cooperation agreements with Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad to share resources and pursue investments with the government-owned entities.
France’s pension reserve fund, the €28.9 billion ($40.6 billion) Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites, has completed a strategic asset allocation review that began last January, resulting in a dramatic reduction in equities.
In the US, defined contribution plans have grown in importance but are relatively new to economic and regulatory uncertainty. In an environment such as this, Watson Wyatt suggests specific practices for managing fiduciary liability and optimising plan value for participants, with the possible result of revising the plan’s investment structure.