North America: Pensions and Investment News and Analysis
Latest news and analysis of pensions, asset management, regulation and trends in North America from our award-winning journalists.
Is the US finally heading for a soft landing?
Having come to terms with the higher-for-longer mantra, markets are grappling with ‘higher-for-even-longer’, as US economic resilience continues to challenge expectations of weakness while reducing the prospects for earlier interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Fiera Capital: Montreal’s succession story
If Fiera Capital were a retail store it might need a big shop window. It is perhaps better known in the institutional world outside Canada for strategies like real assets – particularly given its established presence in the UK property sector – but Fiera is a full-service asset manager that is also a big deal in its home town of Montreal. The figurative shop window offers everything from Canadian bonds to global equities, and includes a comprehensive suite of real assets and lending strategies.
Active management is back on the menu for US pensions
Rising rates and market volatility are forcing US pension funds to rethink their approach to passive and active investing. They are realising that their US stock portfolios are not diversified enough to help protect against a correction. But change may not come so fast.
SEC cracks down on private equity and hedge funds
Pension funds, university endowments, insurance funds, and other institutional investors have long called for more transparency about their investments in private equity and hedge funds.
What should EU investors do if the Republicans win the White House?
Sustainability-minded investors should wake up to the challenge of right-wing populism and its threat to climate policy
Inversion anxiety: what’s up with yield curves in 2023
For over half a century, each time the spread between US 10-year and three-month yields turned negative, indicating an inverted yield curve, a recession followed, sooner or later. In 2023, the yield curve has been more than just a little inverted.
Credit investors ready for a possible US recession
Although 2023 has been ‘interesting’ so far, it has also provided relief after the challenges and financial asset mayhem of 2022, and a wide range of asset classes have posted positive returns to date.
US pension funds hone in on private credit
Private credit has been one of the fastest growing asset classes in the institutional world over the past several years, according to Catherine Beard, senior vice-president in consultancy Callan’s alternatives group.
NBIM’s Shanghai exit: more than ‘operational’ adjustment’
When Norway’s sovereign wealth fund announced in September it was shutting down its only office in China, the move was bound to be seen as symbolic of the deteriorating relationship between China and the US and its allies. It also came at a low-point for investment in China, with foreigners having sold off a record CNY90bn (€11.5bn) of Chinese stocks in August, amid fears over China’s tensions with the West, its property crisis and weak post-COVID economic recovery.
AP2 helps German think tank develop portfolio tool to assess deforestation risk
In work funded by Californian philanthropists, Swedish national pensions buffer fund says publicly-accessible workflow will be tested on AP2’s listed equities
US Treasury releases net zero financing and investment principles
Secretary Yellen says goal is to ‘affirm importance of credible net zero commitments’
The US dollar’s declining status as a global reserve currency
The recent US debt ceiling negotiations have brought into question the viability of the US dollar’s status as a global reserve currency. Long-term investors have been reviewing their strategic asset allocation away from the currency, seeking to diversify their exposure and to take advantage of long-term investment opportunities.
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ESG remains mired in politics in the US
“I am not going to use the word ESG because it’s been misused by the far left and the far right,” said BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in a conversation at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June.
Fixed income, rates & currency: US debt crisis averted – what next?
The US debt ceiling crisis was resolved in June, avoiding potentially major fireworks, with a suspension of the limit until early 2025. This ensures that the next time the politicians have to fight about it will be after the November 2024 presidential election. Although markets were relieved at the temporary resolution, the process of rebuilding the very depleted Treasury cash balances – with some huge bill auctions planned – will drain significant liquidity from the system, which could put pressure on the rates market.
Discerning investor sentiment: this year’s proxy season
Every annual general meeting (AGM) season has traditionally brought with it a few symbolic moments – events that serve as broader indicators of the market’s mood when it comes to environmental and social issues.
Letter from US: Annuities move into the US market
Three of the largest players in the US pension industry are launching new products that offer annuities as a retirement savings distribution option. Millions of Americans will soon have access to pension-like investments in their 401(k) plans thanks to BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and State Street Global Advisors. The other large player in the US market, Vanguard, will not take part in this new trend.
Special Report – Outlook: Europe and the world
Inflation may be losing momentum, thanks to vigorous central bank action, but with a recession on the horizon, it is hard to tell whether the next few months and years will see markets turn around and risk assets begin to perform again. For the time being, CIOs argue for selectivity in stock selection and generally agree that bonds have resumed their diversification role. The main article in our Outlook report features the views of influential CIOs and strategists on asset allocation for the next few years.
Equities – Does location matter in the corporate listings debate?
The number of listed companies have fallen dramatically, but London remains a preferred global financial centre
Outlook – Europe and the world: US overtakes Europe in clean-energy production
Incentives package for US-based clean energy investments is seen by some as a threat to Europe’s industrial competitiveness
Outlook – Europe and the world: UK launches its own approach to green investment
The focus is on financial regulation rather than economic policy to drive decarbonisation
US: state enrolment systems gain traction
There are signs that the US state-facilitated retirement savings plans are starting to have a positive impact on both the creation and uptake of private pension plans.
BlackRock executive pegs inequality with new opportunity index
“Inequality is both a risk and an opportunity that should be measured,” says Gavin Lewis in a conversation about his book ‘The Opportunity Index: A solution-based framework to dismantle the racial wealth gap’. Growing up in a single parent household without a father in Tottenham, a predominantly black area of London with high poverty levels, Lewis is well qualified to have a view on inequality. But as a managing director at BlackRock, is he also an example of the exception that proves the rule?
US: Politics drive ESG debate
Three Republican candidates for the White House are vocal advocates against pension funds adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment practices.
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