Sovereign funds favouring Asian IPOs for next 3 months

Asian IPOs, core retail real estate and natural resource investments are the most favoured by the world’s sovereign wealth funds for the next three months, according to a ‘consensus demand meter’ produced by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute in the US.The institute ranks 13 asset classes and types of investment on a scale of one to 10 for the demand that sovereign funds are likely to have for them in the next three months; in this case, October through December.

The levels of demand are estimated from a range of sources, including public statements, market and economic research, internal sources and interviews with executives. A score of 10 indicates the area is attractive for the majority or a large portion of sovereign funds. A score of one indicates the funds are likely to lower their exposures.

The top-rating investment area for funds looking forward from September was Asian IPOs, with a score of nine, followed by core retail real estate and natural resources, both with eight. Real estate secondaries funds came in fourth, with a score of seven, indicating possibly that there was still evidence of distressed selling opportunities in the sector.

Mirroring its popularity among individual investors, for once, was gold, which had a score of six, which would be a marked difference from the normal views one could expect from pension funds of a similar size.

The least popular investments going forward were European equities and Greek sovereign debt, both with a score of two, followed by agricultural land, private real estate debt and cash, each with a score of three.

Sponsored Content

Leave a Comment

Sort content by

Gunning for diversity, dynamism and due diligence

The new low-return, high-volatility environment requires broadly diversified portfolios, dynamic decision-making and rigorous due diligence, which is beyond the internal capacity of most small funds under $10 billion, warns Russell Investment’s global chief investment officer Peter Gunning. He says smaller funds must decide if it is cost effective and even possible to internally manage investment

ESG here to stay

Anyone who thought ESG was a passing fad can think again. The announcement this week that Mercer, which has led the consulting industry on standalone ESG ratings, will now integrate those factors across its ratings process has cemented ESG as an important investment risk and return consideration. The consultant rates more than 20,000 investment strategies

Mercer integrates ESG

Mercer will integrate its proprietary environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings across all of its manager-search and performance data, cementing ESG as a key investment consideration. The consultant rates more than 20,000 strategies, oversees more than $5 trillion of assets under advice and has $60 billion in its multi-manager products. Mercer has led the consulting

Modern portfolio theory, risk and fiduciary duty

It was only a few decades ago that trustees in many jurisdictions were restricted from investing in certain assets. Fiduciary duty has evolved as the thinking about investments has changed. This is true, then, of how trustees should be applying fiduciary duty to current day investment challenges, including systemic risk and climate change risk. Ed

Singapore’s GIC stashes cash

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is stockpiling cash as it positions itself to take advantage of any potential opportunities, lifting its cash allocation from 3 per cent at the start of 2011 to 11 per cent of its total portfolio by the earlier part of this year. The sovereign wealth fund’s chief investment

GMO boss warns of food crisis

Global investors should have as much as 30 per cent of their portfolios exposed to natural resources, more than double the current market average, because of a burgeoning worldwide food crisis, GMO’s Jeremy Grantham says. The droughts afflicting farmers in the US and the subsequent spike in food commodity prices are just forerunners to the

Previous