Over the last three years, extending a trend that began in the wake of the financial crisis, the average institutional investor has transitioned its investment portfolio to one that is not only more complex and diverse, but which features a greater proportion of illiquid investments, according to the findings of the 2018 Global Asset Owner …
Asset owners looking to succeed in a world of substantial changes in technology, demography, globalization, environment and social norms will need to significantly reposition their business, operating and investment models, according to new research from global advisory broking and solutions company, Willis Towers Watson. In a just-released paper, titled The Asset Owner of Tomorrow, the …
Impact investing has piqued the interest of many forward-thinking pension funds, as a way to contribute to positive environmental and social change while also reaping significant returns. But a lack of appropriately structured and sized investment vehicles may be holding many of them back from doing so. “One reason why impact investing has not drawn more …
Institutional investors surveyed by IA recently on the importance they attach to four ascendant asset-manager engagement due-diligence criteria indicated that they place the most importance on managers’ records on sexual harassment, followed in descending order of importance by their records on environmental, social and governance (ESG), cybersecurity and diversity. In response to a brief thought …
Reporter Kaitlyn Mitchell recently spoke with Mansco Perry, longtime executive director and chief investment officer (CIO) of the $93.5 billion Minnesota State Board of Investment (MSBI). Perry has had a long career in financial analysis, and has overseen MSBI through excellent returns in his time with the fund—in 2017, the fund had a 15.1% return, …
Of late, many U.S. public pension funds have been actively seeking ways to boost the compensation of their chief investment officers (CIO). But most are hesitant to combine the roles of executive director (ED) and CIO, according to investment professionals, because the skills required for each position can be very different. Alaska Dips a Toe …
The news that private equity investment in the U.S. fell by almost 50% to $41 billion in the second quarter, compared to investments totaling $80 billion in Q2 2017, may have startled some market observers, who had watched the segment hit record heights in 2017. But keen observers remain unfazed, confident that investors will soon be …
There is little uniformity in the use of benchmarks for different asset classes among public pension plans, according to a new report from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE) and the Boston College Center for Retirement Research (CRR). Given that pension plans pay their asset managers based on the expectation that they will beat …
This week, IA reporter Kaitlyn Mitchell had an in-depth conversation with Seth Magaziner, the General Treasurer of Rhode Island. A young man at age 35, Magaziner, who is responsible for the administration of $8.3 billion in assets at the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI), is running for re-election this fall, after making improvements to the …
Philipp Hensler, who last week joined New York City–based equity manager Epoch Investment Partners, as president and chief operating officer, has alpha on his mind—on the left and right side of his brain, to be clinical. Hensler was previously president and CEO of Vontobel Asset Management. Delivering a presentation based on doctoral research he conducted …
