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A new understanding of responsible investing preferences
Investors with a large proportion of educated female members have extra reason to take socially responsible investing seriously, but can possibly relax about poor returns. That is a fascinating finding of Rachel Pownall, an associate professor of Tilburg University, who has published groundbreaking work on the nuances of responsible investing. Pownall, together with Arian Borgers
CalPERS board’s divestment dilemmas
The merits of tracking divested dollars, and the value of data illustrating what the pension fund has missed out on was the topic of much debate at the December CalPERS board meeting. In 2021 the fund will review six divestment programs across tobacco, firearms, coal, Iran, Sudan and emerging market equity principles.
OMERS shifts to direct investing privately
As OMERS moves towards its target asset allocation of 53:47 in public/private markets, the private equity division is also undergoing change with a preference for direct investing. Paul Renaud (pictured), president and chief executive of OMERS Private Equity, discusses the transformation.
Wyoming takes
the passive route
Investors are taking an increasingly sophisticated view of their passive equity allocations, aiming to capture the benefits of a range of risk premiums, while also lowering the volatility and improving the risk/adjusted returns – all at a considerably lower cost than active management. Wyoming Retirement System (WRS) turned to risk-premium mandates as part of a
Sustainable investment goes to school
The Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights and Columbia University’s Earth Institute will run a series of high-level courses on sustainable investment focused on environmental, social and governance approaches as well as human and labour rights this autumn. The Compass Sustainable Investing Certificate program, designed for long-term investors, will have a solutions-driven
New York fund fulfills green promise with $200m Generation mandate
The $122 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund has allocated $200 million to Generation Investment Management, partly fulfilling the commitment made by New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, in April last year to increase commitments to environmentally focused strategies across the whole portfolio by $500 million in three years.
Mercer’s new approach to asset allocation for multi-manager funds
Mercer has revamped the asset allocation of its largest group of funds and in the process refined the way it classifies types of investments into ‘growth’ and ‘defensive’. The multi-manager has also signaled an evolution towards a ‘risk premia-based’ approach to asset allocation in the future. Greg Bright reports.
Arizona targets commodities, emerging markets in allocations overhaul
This month the $24 billion Arizona State Retirement System completed an asset allocation overhaul resulting in new dedicated allocations to commodities and emerging market equities. Amanda White spoke with director Paul Matson about the decision-making process and the exposure and implementation decisions, including manager selection, still to come.
China’s CIC goes public with investment strategy
China Investment Corporation has for the first time revealed its investment strategy. SONIA HAN reports that the Chinese sovereign wealth fund has accelerated its investment program in open-market products and industries such as mining, energy and real estate. The CIC is seeing value after the crisis but is also looking to limit portfolio risk.



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