November 2024

CPPIB Leads Global Pension Funds With $144B Allocated to Private Equity

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board made the largest allocation to private equity of any pension fund during the first 10 months of the year, with $143.86 billion—which made up 24.6% of its portfolio—allocated to the asset class, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The 20 pension funds with the largest allocations have committed a combined $707.6 billion to private equity, through the end of October The California Public Employees’ Retirement System was a distant second with $83.5 billion—16% of...

US. Strategic insights from pension funds – Global Investor Insights Survey

The Schroders Global Investor Insights Survey highlights pivotal shifts in pension fund investment strategies across US$13 trillion in assets. Nearly all respondents (94%) are either invested in or moving into private markets especially in areas like private debt, private equity, and renewable infrastructure – as pension funds seek long-term opportunities aligned with the energy transition and technological innovation. Indeed, the energy transition is a top priority for pension funds worldwide, with 93% of respondents already investing or planning to soon. The demand for...

Ghana blocks pension funds from offshore investment on currency concerns, sources say

Ghana is clamping down on private pension fund managers who want to invest in offshore assets on concerns it could worsen pressure on its cedi currency, three industry sources told Reuters. After pension reforms in 2010, workers' retirement contributions in the world's number two cocoa producer enjoyed strong growth, buoyed by a tiered scheme that allow private firms to manage some contributions. Assets under management by the pension fund industry were 78.2 billion Ghanaian cedis ($4.93 billion) in June, of which...

N.Y. State Common Retirement Fund makes $4.6 billion in alternative investment commitments

The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, has made 15 commitments totaling $4.6 billion to alternative investments, according to a notice posted on the website of Thomas P. DiNapoli, the state comptroller and sole trustee of the $267.7 billion pension fund. All commitments were made in September. The pension fund made five opportunistic absolute return strategy commitments for a total of $1.8 billion. The commitments are: TPG Solutions (A), managed by TPG Capital, for $500 million. This fund “invests exclusively”...

Danish pension fund targets Asian clean energy bets

By Hugo Cox   PensionDanmark, Denmark’s $51 billion pension fund, has identified clean energy solutions, including many in Asia, as its number one sustainability priority for 2025. It is aiming to build on existing direct allocations in the region, which include wind and solar projects in India, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan. “We are now heavily involved in green energy infrastructure development projects throughout the region," Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, head of ESG and sustainability at PensionDanmark in Copenhagen told AsianInvestor. "It’s a very important market...

Pension funds will have to invest more in UK assets under government plans

Pension funds will be ordered to invest more money into UK assets if changes announced last week by The Chancellor don’t see an increase in money flowing into Britain. Emma Reynolds, UK pensions minister, told the FT that while last week’s changes had avoided forcing pension funds to invest in British assets, such “mandation” would be considered if they don’t do enough. “We’re not talking about it for now, but let’s see where we get to,” Reynolds said, in an interview with...

2024 Top 40 Money Managers Report: To divest or engage?

By Blake Wolfe With 15 different client organizations, including nine public sector pension plans, the Alberta Investment Management Corp. has opted to engage, rather than divest, from certain investments, particularly those in the energy sector. “One of the things we were very clear on, both for ourselves and in talking to clients, is that divestment wasn’t the way we wanted to go,” says Carmen Velasquez, the investment organization’s managing director of sustainable investing. “One of the things we talk a lot...

UK. What will Rachel Reeves’s retirement scheme changes mean for pensions?

The chancellor has announced plans to merge local government retirement schemes into eight Canada-style ‘megafunds’ Rachel Reeves has announced plans to merge local government retirement schemes into eight Canada-style “megafunds” in what the Treasury claims will be part of the biggest reform of the UK pension market in decades. So what will the changes, announced as part of the chancellor’s inaugural Mansion House speech on Thursday, actually mean for UK pensions and what can they achieve? What is Reeves planning? The chancellor plans...

UK. Reeves in radical pension shake-up to boost growth

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning what she calls the "biggest pension reform in decades" in an attempt to boost economic growth. The government wants to merge the UK's 86 council pension schemes into a handful of "pension megafunds". It is hoped the changes will lead to billions of pounds being invested in the UK in areas such as energy infrastructure, tech start-ups and public services. Reeves told the BBC that UK public sector pension funds in their current form were not big...

Danish pension fund pushes for Japan, Korea to abandon coal

PensionDanmark, Denmark’s $51 billion pension fund, is calling on Japan and South Korea to completely wean themselves off coal-generated power by 2030. “We have decided not to finance new coal power planned after 2023 anywhere in the world," Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, head of ESG and sustainability at PensionDanmark told AsianInvestor. "Our ask for utilities in developed countries, including in Japan and South Korea, is that they present comprehensive plans to phase out coal as soon as possible. And that should be closer...