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April, 2019
Atlas Master Trust allocates to Schroder’s ESG systematic fund
The Atlas Master Trust, one of the UK’s largest master trusts for DC pensions, has allocated £320 million to a sustainable multi-factor equity fund run by Schroders. The allocation represents all of the core equity allocation in three multi-asset funds run by Atlas, which are part of its default lifestyle strategy for DC members. Schroders said that ...
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April, 2019
Northern LGPS hits out at proposed rule change
Northern LGPS (formerly Northern Pool), the £45 billion asset pool set up by the Merseyside, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire pension funds, has protested at a proposed rule change from central government, which it said could add tens of millions of pounds to asset pool running costs. Northern LGPS has written to government ministers to say it is ...
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April, 2019
The ESG evolution
Matthew Craig, LAPF Investments. Matthew Craig examines how ESG trends are informing the investment decisions at local authority pension funds For the members of Local Government Pension Scheme (LPGS), investing with regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues has gone from an optional extra to a key part of their investment mission in ...
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April, 2019
Private equity investing in Europe hits £70 billion
Private equity investment in European companies reached a record level of Euro 81 billion (£70 billion) in 2018, up 7% on the previous year, according to Invest Europe, the representative body for European private equity firms. Private equity funds invested in over 7,800 companies, with nearly 90% of this in small and medium-sized enterprises. ...
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April, 2019
Chinese growth for Q1 exceeds expectations
The Chinese economy grew by more than market expectations in the first quarter of 2019, with a rise in gross domestic product (GDP) of 6.4% on a year-on-year basis, ahead of forecast growth of 6.3%. Schroders emerging markets economist Craig Botham said the results were something of surprise to China observers. “Given the weakness in high frequency data ...
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April, 2019
Unison and ShareAction call for action on ESG disclosures from the LGPS
Responsible investment charity ShareAction and trade union Unison have produced a report looking at the investment strategy statements of the 88 funds in the LGPS. The report, Responsible Investment in the LGPS, published in April 2019, found that many funds have either not produced policy on environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, or were ...
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April, 2019
LGPS Central features in climate change initiative
LGPS Central, the asset pool for nine Midlands-based asset managers with combined assets of around £40 billion, has joined an initiative which will look at how investors can align their portfolios to the goals of the Paris Agreement on global warming action. The initiative, launched by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), aims to ...
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April, 2019
London ranks second in global city index despite Brexit
London has been ranked second in the Schroders Global Cities 30 index, despite the political and economic uncertainty created by Britain’s prolonged Brexit crisis. Los Angeles retains the top spot in the index, which takes into account factors such as projected economic growth, disposable incomes in the next decade and population size. Hong Kong, New ...
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April, 2019
Identifying why and how ESG factors move the needle
Guillaume Mascotto, Head of ESG and Investment Stewardship, American Century Investments. Guillaume Mascotto of American Century Investments highlights some key business risks that can demonstrate the value ESG can bring when planning an investment strategy Despite recent advancements, environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing remains a ...
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April, 2019
Brunel commits £46 million to PE impact fund
Brunel Pension Partnership has committed $60 million (£46 million) to a private equity impact fund with fund manager Neuberger Berman, for four of its underlying pool members. Brunel said that it made the investment because it saw it as an excellent investment opportunity, rather than for a specific impact mandate. Brunel’s head of private markets, ...
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