All Alternatives articles – Page 4
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Special ReportDecarbonisation outcomes: preparing portfolios for a low-carbon world
The climate challenge is clear, and more investors are looking to include climate investing solutions in their portfolios. Next to funding climate solutions and enabling negative emissions, the decarbonisation of portfolios is one of the most important objectives for climate investing.
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Opinion PiecesUS 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.
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Special ReportInnovation and choice challenge the established players
The wonderful breeding ground of ETFs means that you can now allocate to any sector or specialism you like, from artificial intelligence to recycled gold; export-tilted Japanese companies to carbon credits. New launches this year include Texas Equity, following the fortunes of companies headquartered in the Lone Star State; the euphoniously named Clouty Tune, which brings global exposure to music, entertainment and media; and Breakwave’s Tanker Shipping ETF, which tracks an index for crude oil tankers.
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Special Report
Case study: MHPF - Searching for greater transparency
Transparency is one of the most important elements of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for many investors. For some, however, there is always room for improvement.
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Special ReportCase study: How CalSTRS uses ETFs to support the energy transition
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) manages US$315.6bn (€294.3bn) on behalf of teachers and education staff in the state of California. Environmental considerations and the transition to a low-carbon economy are high priorities for the pension fund, which is one of the biggest public sector funds in the US.
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Special ReportCase study: Ilmarinen - Building a climate-focused future
Finland’s second-biggest pension provider is a keen investor in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), having allocated more than €6bn to a range of equity vehicles in recent years.
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Special ReportFaith-based investing: how to build Shariah-compliant investment portfolios
Ethical investing can be a nuanced task, as aligning one’s investment principles with their beliefs can often be contradictory. On the one hand investors want to maximise their return and minimise their risk to ensure they benefit from the best possible investment outcome. However, on the other hand, they may want to ensure they don’t fund any enterprise which derives revenue from provision of ‘unethical’ goods or services.
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Special ReportCase study: Caja de Ingenieros Gestion - The rise of smart beta
The Spanish pension provider Caja de Ingenieros Gestion serves more than 215,000 members, predominantly from the Spanish engineering sector, using an investment style based on independent analysis, with a bottom-up approach.
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Special ReportThe hidden power of an ESG approach to sector investing
Adding an ESG filter to a sector ETF could help investors mitigate risk and may increase returns – while improving ESG and carbon intensity scores.
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Special ReportCase study: Varma - A bespoke approach to ETFs
Varma, the €57.4bn Finnish pension insurer, has been at the forefront of sustainable investing for several years and has used exchange-traded funds to get there.
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Opinion PiecesDon't expect Dutch pension funds to make a big move to alternative investments
It is often assumed that the upcoming pension reform in the Netherlands will lead pension funds to increase their allocations to alternative assets as their policy priorities will move from protecting their funding ratios to providing indexation for their members.
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Special ReportBonds are back and aligned with a greener future
Bonds are back in vogue and, of the current fixed income opportunities available, we believe euro-denominated investment-grade credit offers one of the most compelling risk/reward profiles.
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AnalysisSustainable agriculture is a growing necessity and institutional investors play a key role
Investment manager PGIM stated in a research note in May: “From farm to fork, our global food system is vast, complex, inefficient and increasingly unfit for purpose.”
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Special ReportActive ETFs power ahead
While active managers are out of favour, their strategies embedded in an exchange traded fund package are gaining traction. In fact, they are outpacing passive ETFs as investors look for liquidity and robust risk-adjusted returns with a relatively low price tag.
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Special ReportETFs Guide 2023: Innovation challenges concentration as investors spread their ETF wings
ETFs’ steep upward trajectory continues, driven, as industry participants note, by their low cost, simplicity, and flexibility as an allocation tool. Globally the value of assets invested in ETFs, some $10.7trn (€10trn) at the end of August 2023, is 17.5% higher than at the same point in 2022, according to consultancy ETFGI. In Europe the increase was greater, at 20.8%, but from a much smaller base, with total investment in ETFs now standing at $1.7trn, with the lower take-up still being attributed to less favourable tax treatment.
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NewsPrivate equity still too expensive – GSAM survey
Real estate is the least popular alternative asset class, with three in 10 investors looking to decrease their exposure
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NewsGerman institutional investors plan higher exposure to alternative credit
Versorgungswerke aim for an alternative investment quota of over 50%
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NewsSwiss pension funds over invested in real estate, alternatives
PPCmetrics recorded for the first time rise in average technical interest rate
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NewsSweden’s AP3 generates 5.5% in H1 after holding tight to strategy
Listed equities’ surge almost entirely responsible for buffer fund’s positive return for January to June
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FeaturesFixed income, rates & currency: Uncertainty persists
As the major central banks in developed markets reach, or at least near, the end of their hiking cycles, markets, rather than identifying when policy rates will peak, focus is now on the conundrum of just how long these policy peaks will be maintained.
