Fresh from a stint as head of asset management at China’s second largest insurance company, Ping An, the new chief investment
officer of the $A19 billion ($16 billion) UniSuper, John Pearce, has some definitive views on how to position the fund for the future, including bringing some equities management in-house, focusing on infrastructure in the developed world, and being more creative in setting its investment mandates.
New York fund manages in-house environmental funds
The $109 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund will internally manage $200 million allocated to companies in the FTSE Environmental Technology 50 and the HSBC Global Climate Change Index under the fund’s green strategic investment program.
Water management new focus area for Norway giant SWF
Norway’s NOK 2385 billion ($390 billion) sovereign wealth fund has overhauled its strategy for active ownership, adding water management as a new focus area, as the fund achieved its biggest ever single quarter return of 12.7 per cent.
In Europe, PE managers find new means of survival
Faced with falling valuations and few options for raising new capital, European private equity managers have targeted family companies undergoing generational change and corporate consolidations across the continent to secure new deals. But some managers are struggling to keep existing portfolios afloat, and have asked investors to ‘recycle’ commitments into old investments.
SWFs to alter allocations for a more optimal portfolio
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) may allocate substantially more to equities if they consider
correlations between natural resources and financial assets in portfolio optimisation, according to State Street’s Vision Report, which also suggests SWFs consider becoming more active share owners as a consequence of the financial crisis.
Real assets and inflation hedge investing
Massachusetts-based consultant, NEPC, advises that clients allocate between 5 and 15 per cent to real assets – including commodities, TIPS and direct investments in real estate, energy and infrastructure. This article by consultant Edward O’Donnell examines the rationale, risks and potential returns of allocating to real assets.
