The $4.75 billion (£3 billion) UK Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has upgraded its relationship with consultant Towers Watson, having appointed the firm as its “delegated chief investment officer”, which is the first such arrangement for the consultant.
Access to investment smarts and better fee alignment are just some of the benefits institutional investors can gain through their mandates with funds managers, says Craig Baker, global head of manager research with Towers Watson.
The largest 20 pension funds globally, which make up 39.2 per cent of the largest 300 funds, have underperformed the rest of the universe measured by the Towers Watson/Pensions & Investments survey for the first time.
Defined-contribution pension plans “are in their adolescence” and one workable model for their maturity is public-private entities which use social networking to promote the confidence of their members, a world authority on pension funds says.
Global practice director of Towers Watson Investment, Carl Hess, explains why the consultant has conviction in the ability to exploit mispricing between asset classes, and when dynamic strategic asset allocation works.
Towers Watson has revealed an alternative fee model for private equity which includes halving the base fee and a two-tiered performance-based fee linked to staff retention, earnings growth as well as returns.
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