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Swedish lobby calls on politicians to boost green pensions investments
Investments can only be greener if society as a whole becomes greener, says Insurance Sweden
Actuaries doubt decisive impact of proposed statutory funded pension system
DAV and IVS are calling for a model to finance pensions that looks towards the long term
DNB warns pension funds on cybersecurity risk
Pension fund executives have insufficient knowledge about IT risks, according to the regulator
DC roundup: DWP decides shorter, simpler benefit statements
Plus: LCP urges DC schemes to assess ESG and net zero targets
Cardano buys Dutch asset manager Actiam
The acquisition is to provide Cardano with much needed sustainability expertise
Slim gain for Norway’s SWF in Q3, despite NOK52bn withdrawal
Weaker krone and returns on property, FI, narrowly save GPFG from shrinking in July-Sept
UK proposes mandatory Paris alignment disclosure by pension plans
Consultation launch follows updated TCFD guidance, Portfolio Alignment Team report
Austrian association calls for ‘green pension’ proposal on tax reform
According to the recommendation, a tax break would apply to company pension scheme contributions if savings flow into sustainable investment
UK roundup: SEI acquires Atlas master trust
Plus: Research company in buy-in deal for scheme
People moves: SDI Asset Owner Platform names research director
Swiss scheme tenders EM equity mandate worth up to CHF2.2bn
Net-zero asset owner group kicking the tyres on climate benchmarks
Switzerland adjusts mandatory second pillar pensions to inflation from 2022
Iceland enters Mercer index as top pension system, UK leaps to 9th
New TPI centre to deliver 25-fold increase in company climate coverage
UK roundup: PPF’s reserves rise to £9bn
German parties agree to allocate pay-as-you go pensions on capital markets
Reporting round-up: SASB Risk-management Disclosures
Sweden’s AP funds to rethink ethics council as Howchin departs
ABP exits Glencore investment over human rights concerns
AMF pumps €20m into unlisted Swedish airline set for carbon neutrality
Germany works on sustainable criteria to invest pension assets in fixed income
Animal meat consumption peak in 2030, according to new IPR forecast
Sweden’s AP funds to rethink ethics council as Howchin departs
Review now needed with sustainability, responsible investment looming larger in Swedish buffer funds’ processes and generally, say funds
AMF pumps €20m into unlisted Swedish airline set for carbon neutrality
Swedish pensions major adds to rapid growth of unlisted portfolio, via new share issue of BRA
Strategically Speaking: Aviva Investors
Insurance-owned asset managers can be difficult to pigeonhole. Some have forged strong specialisms, often in fixed income, but now also in alternatives like property or niche credit. Others have remained a corporate backwater absorbed by group general-account assets.
How we run our money: PMT
Hartwig Liersch (pictured), chief investment officer at Pensioenfonds Metaal & Techniek (PMT), tells Tjibbe Hoekstra how the largest private market pension fund in the Netherlands is looking to strengthen its investment policy to address the climate crisis
On the record: Private markets
Three European pension funds discuss their views and strategies with regard to asset management fees, particularly in private markets
Books: COVID: The first 10 weeks
Ten Weeks into COVID-19: Psyche, Money and Narratives: An interpretation of the crisis, Pascal Blanqué, Economica, 2021
Interview: Lars Dijkstra, Van Lanschot Kempen
Lars Dijkstra, Van Lanschot Kempen’s new head of sustainability, explains his new role at the recently combined asset management franchise
People moves: AP2 CIO plans departure
AP2, CEM Benchmarking, Aegon, TransitionZero, ICI, Amundi, T. Rowe Price, JPSB Group
‘Unprecedented’ numbers for EFRAG EU standards working groups
Working groups will provide feedback on early draft of EU standards for corporate sustainability reporting
Briefing: Germany’s Spezialfonds are weathering the crisis well
Institutional investors in Germany continue to invest in funds despite the challenging conditions. In the middle of 2021, the volume of Spezialfonds – Germany’s vehicle for professional investors – on the Universal-Investment platform stood at almost €474bn. This represents an increase of 36% over the past 12 months. According to most observers, it has been one of the most exceptional periods in a long time.
Briefing: Private market fees
In today’s low-interest-rate and low-return environment, investing in private markets has become a requirement for virtually every institutional investor. Private markets are where investors can obtain the extra returns they need and can no longer earn from listed assets, thanks to the liquidity premium and higher risk/return profile of non-listed assets.
Briefing: Is equity duration risk about to step into the limelight?
In his memoirs, Sir Laurence Olivier tells how, in 1967, he was suddenly taken ill during a National Theatre production of August Strindberg’s Dance of Death. His understudy stepped into the role for just four nights, but in that short time, “.…walked away with the part of Edgar like a cat with a mouse between its teeth”. A star was born. Fifty-five years later, Sir Anthony Hopkins, with a career just as stellar as his one-time mentor, was the oldest-ever recipient of an Oscar for best actor.
Agriculture: Time to rethink farming
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in August, provides grim reading. According to the summary for policymakers: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”
Consultants’ education role in net-zero world
Investment consultants play a crucial role within the savings and investments arena. They provide strategic advice to asset owners (pension funds, sovereign funds, endowments, insurers, and others) relating to strategy, asset allocation, asset manager selection and – now more importantly than ever – investment beliefs.
Notes on the Nordics: Moves may set up net-zero goal for GPFG
Two events have happened in quick succession that increase the chances of Norway instructing its huge sovereign wealth fund to push for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its investment portfolio.
Viewpoint: Why we need deforestation-free portfolios by 2025
‘If we are to address climate change, we need to put an end to deforestation’
Guest Viewpoint: The climate is ripe for change
If there is to be a successful transition to a net- zero global economy, trillions of dollars need to be invested in renewable energy generation, electricity transmission and storage systems, and energy efficiency. The need is for fresh money. At scale.
Long term matters: Vaccine apartheid and investors
This column last covered COVID-19 vaccine inequity in June. Since then, using The Economist’s model of “excess deaths”, there may have been more than 4m deaths globally. That means 37,700 people dying every day, arguably unnecessarily. This number comes with many caveats but it’s possible (indeed probable) that the figure could be much higher.
Consultants’ education role in net-zero world
Investment consultants play a crucial role within the savings and investments arena. They provide strategic advice to asset owners (pension funds, sovereign funds, endowments, insurers, and others) relating to strategy, asset allocation, asset manager selection and – now more importantly than ever – investment beliefs.
Notes on the Nordics: Moves may set up net-zero goal for GPFG
Two events have happened in quick succession that increase the chances of Norway instructing its huge sovereign wealth fund to push for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its investment portfolio.
Emerging market debt
Our opening article in this report looks at emerging market private credit. In EMs there is a $100bn corporate funding gap with 90% of lending through banks. But we find EMD managers broadly cautious overall, particularly on China, with interviews conducted before the Evergrande story broke. Lastly, we look at Latin America, where investors encounter populism and social unrest but sustainability bond issuance is booming.
Asset class: Equities
The number of listed companies in the US and the UK has fallen dramatically over the past quarter century, putting more pressure on institutional investors to invest in private equity, as we cover in this report. The report also looks at the emerging market small-cap sector and UK’s micro caps.
Inflation: Riding the wave
As the outlook for inflation becomes increasingly cloudy, European institutional investors try to focus on long-term trends
Portfolio strategy: Credit
As the institutional investment community heads towards a post-COVID new normal, private credit remains a favourite among investors despite inflationary headwinds. In this report, we also cover the record amounts of capital raised by private-debt funds last year, the latest developments ESG in private markets, and how the digital transformation accelerated by COVID is impacting private debt.
Activist investors: Muscular stewardship
New types of activist investor are attracting support from long-term asset owners, particularly on environmental and social topics
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