The Latest
Investor Profile

Maryland’s record year prompts actuarial rate reduction

Maryland State Retirement  and Pension System is the latest fund to record an historical performance for the 2021 financial year, returning a best ever 26.7 per cent. Again public and private equities were the star performers with an exceptional 51.85 per cent return in private equity and 44.54 per cent in public equities  But in recognition there might be a bill to pay for those higher returns in the future the fund has lowered its actuarial rate of return.
Amanda WhiteSeptember 9, 2021
Analysis

Tough 2020 for Canadian funds: Aon

Now that we’re in the midst of 2020, it might be easy for investors to forget how big a turnaround 2019 actually was for financial markets. One way to look at it is through the Aon Median Solvency Ratio, a quarterly survey that gauges the financial health of an important slice of the institutional investor community, Canadian defined benefit pension plans. Erwan Pirou, Canada CIO for Aon asks whether markets – and, by extension, pension plan solvency – can stage a repeat performance in 2020.
Erwan PirouFebruary 7, 2020
Climate

Decarbonisation linked to better returns

As concerns about climate change reach fever pitch, Harvard Business School has published a report that shows investment strategies that “aggressively’ reduce carbon emissions can significantly boost fund performance.
Sarah JonesOctober 28, 2019
Editorial

Back to the future: investors concerns in 2008 resonate today

This issue marks the 400th edition of www.top1000funds.com,  which looks at the strategies and views of the world’s largest asset owners. So what were the concerns and opportunities of investors six years ago, and what are they now?   Since its launch in 2008, the journalists at www.top1000funds.com have written more than 2,000 stories on […]
Amanda WhiteMay 16, 2014
In Conversation

Home bias in corporate engagement revealed

Investors should take care in selecting corporate engagement firms to ensure the engagement reflects their portfolio holdings, warn academics at Oxford and Maastricht Universities following a new study which reveals a home bias in such activity. As the investment portfolios of large institutional investors become increasingly global, it is particularly important that they carefully select […]
Amanda WhiteApril 24, 2014
Analysis

Data doesn’t lie: illiquidity premium doesn’t exist

There is no 3 per cent illiquidity premium in private equity, according to research by CEM Benchmarking. A cost drag on private assets cancels out the returns of investing in private equity and real estate for those investors that outsource to external providers, the research finds. CEM Benchmarking, which has a database of 354 pension […]
Amanda WhiteJanuary 22, 2014
In Conversation

Retirement: a cause worth working on

There are two things that drive the newly appointed global chief operating officer of State Street Global Advisors, Greg Ehret, in his bid to improve the client experience: the retirement business is a cause worth working on and the clients are the reason the business exists. Ehret was appointed to the new position at SSgA, […]
Amanda WhiteMay 17, 2013