![Top Investor Surveys Part Ways on Asset Allocation Expectations](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/fe654f3f5af0837c5945e6e664c79f14.jpg)
Top Investor Surveys Part Ways on Asset Allocation Expectations
Credible asset owner surveys can be a useful source of insight for both investors and the asset managers/advisers that serve...
![Passive ESG Investing Needs Careful Attention Amid 'Backlash'](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/4ed812363abcd71de4ed0379e30c08cc.jpg)
Passive ESG Investing Needs Careful Attention Amid 'Backlash'
From the pages of the Financial Times and Reuters to the hallways of investment conferences, noise of an ‘ESG Backlash’ has...
![Investor Spotlight: MPS Foundation Seeks Stable Income While Delivering Social Objectives](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/f64b0f198fab67c82ac3934b45f0e485.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: MPS Foundation Seeks Stable Income While Delivering Social Objectives
An inflationary climate has created new challenges for foundations around the globe: with underlying projects seeking larger...
![Asset Manager Selectors: Three Themes to Watch in 2024](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/f3ab1c606a73d63fe6928067fc1b0fb1.jpg)
Asset Manager Selectors: Three Themes to Watch in 2024
The 2023-4 period has brought new challenges for institutional investors, affecting both strategy and investment manager...
![Money for Nothing? Hedge Funds Haven’t Budged on Hurdle Rates (Yet)](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/c60d04f768a1cf15c28fdcfbddc25612.jpg)
Money for Nothing? Hedge Funds Haven’t Budged on Hurdle Rates (Yet)
Although two years have now passed since the Federal Reserve started rapidly hiking interest rates, the likelihood that your...
![Carbon Trading Strategies: Sector in Brief](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/ca1ad9d2bec370976d28a901c5609e82.jpg)
Carbon Trading Strategies: Sector in Brief
This report provides a concise introduction to the investment characteristics of carbon compliance credits and the growing use...
![Investment Grade Corporate Bonds: Understanding Manager Performance](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/41fdcaa9b0eb4b77f1edfb40c1e26bff.jpg)
Investment Grade Corporate Bonds: Understanding Manager Performance
Investor appetite for investment grade fixed income grew significantly last year but active managers are coming under scrutiny....
![As Operational Risks Evolve, Investors Must Scrutinise Service Providers](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/d10ee28f9e557fd574f5ea264f9116ce.jpg)
As Operational Risks Evolve, Investors Must Scrutinise Service Providers
Pension regulators around the globe are sending clear messages that investors must strengthen their operational frameworks and...
![Revisiting the Case for Listed Real Assets](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/15bea726a531e391349301478f397133.jpg)
Revisiting the Case for Listed Real Assets
Four years ago, Listed Real Assets (LRA) boasted some of the strongest long-term risk-adjusted returns of any asset class....
![Climate and Biodiversity in Equity Investing](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/184a9e93d46ee5df9040b32ab5e1eaec.jpg)
Climate and Biodiversity in Equity Investing
The climate imperative is driving new practices across all asset classes. Equity portfolios are typically on the strategic front...
![Investor Spotlight: New London CIV CIO Champions Client-centred Thinking](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/6537dbb8505c55f8333550ab87990dbf.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: New London CIV CIO Champions Client-centred Thinking
Last month brought the announcement of a new Chief Investment Officer for London CIV – one of the eight asset pooling companies...
![Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - February 2024](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/ad5baa1065f3044a9ce2f9eb060ad4c4.jpg)
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - February 2024
bfinance’s quarterly report in February 2024: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...
![Open-end Infrastructure Withstands Investor Cooldown](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/e06fa8fabdd8abcac6a27b3ef0e00819.jpg)
Open-end Infrastructure Withstands Investor Cooldown
The year 2023 brought a slowdown in fundraising across private infrastructure funds – and private markets more broadly.
![Fixed Income with Impact? GSS+ Bonds and Beyond - Sector in Brief](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/2f22e01b72ef2ca8fd7e1532cd2ea969.jpg)
Fixed Income with Impact? GSS+ Bonds and Beyond - Sector in Brief
Recent years have brought significant developments for the GSS+ (Green, Social, Sustainability et al) fixed income market. There...
![Investor Spotlight: Blue Sky Pioneers Integrated Portfolio Management](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/9f86d8ed2771a683537af2807241958e.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: Blue Sky Pioneers Integrated Portfolio Management
The Dutch pension industry is undergoing seismic shifts. Long-anticipated reforms enacted in July 2023 ushered in a Defined...
![Natural Capital Investing](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/95c0e018e75c83215b343dd614acd893.jpg)
Natural Capital Investing
Strong market fundamentals and climate impact potential have driven a surge in institutional investor demand for ‘natural...
![Endowment & Foundation Investment Survey](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/5a18bcaa5bf99249ff4c4b06eb6f8fbe.jpg)
Endowment & Foundation Investment Survey
In October 2023, 61 senior endowment, foundation and charity/nonprofit investors across 16 countries contributed data and...
![Investor Spotlight: The Evolution of Italy’s Pension Landscape](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/8ed4fb66d132368971dcecf5cc8743e6.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: The Evolution of Italy’s Pension Landscape
More than two decades have passed since the arrival of complementary pension provision in Italy, which brought with it a massive...
![What Is Sustainable Infrastructure Investing Now?](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/0833dacf64e59eacf40d01eeb348256a.jpg)
What Is Sustainable Infrastructure Investing Now?
What does sustainable investing look like now in infrastructure? What are the major strategy/fund types available currently to...
![Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - November 2023](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/822cc25bde215b28c6828db39b50a198.jpg)
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - November 2023
bfinance’s quarterly report in November 2023: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...
![Searching for GEMs in ‘All Country’ Global Equity Strategies](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/919b795b1225adc0414ae796043b91f4.jpg)
Searching for GEMs in ‘All Country’ Global Equity Strategies
In the landscape of ‘global’ active equity strategies, the pendulum has—slowly but surely—swung toward strategies that span both...
![Time for Charities to Upgrade Investment Approach, Clarify ESG](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/405c4c7e8942fc422310a33830189a48.jpg)
Time for Charities to Upgrade Investment Approach, Clarify ESG
Thanks to recent guidance from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, UK charities became the latest cohort of...
![‘Ex-China’ Emerging Markets: A New Great Wall in Equities?](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/229ba144faa2a77d4392aba709525b18.jpg)
‘Ex-China’ Emerging Markets: A New Great Wall in Equities?
New manager research from bfinance reveals the proliferation of ‘Emerging Markets ex-China’ equity strategies. This is now...
![Currency Overlays: Active Management is Back](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/ac34faf8bc1cc596f5ad085018360d5e.jpg)
Currency Overlays: Active Management is Back
Active currency overlays and ‘currency for alpha’ managers struggled for much of the ‘ZIRP’ era. Now, divergence between major...
![Investor Spotlight: TfL Pension Reaps Rewards from Liquid Alternatives](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/b3e012eb0a13f64be035a768de80a74e.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: TfL Pension Reaps Rewards from Liquid Alternatives
With around 15% of the portfolio in ‘liquid alternatives’ such as hedge funds and a full 45% in ‘alternative investments,’ the...
![Investor Spotlight: Social Impact in Focus for Italian Bank Foundations](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/45e2643f916157c353c23ee51bed076c.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: Social Impact in Focus for Italian Bank Foundations
Italy's ecosystem of banking-originated Foundations is unique in the financial world. Created as part of a major banking system...
![Outsourced CIO (OCIO) - Sector in Brief](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/7c125f3430f603585ccf9bab29db6646.jpg)
Outsourced CIO (OCIO) - Sector in Brief
The ‘Outsourced Chief Investment Officer’ (or ‘OCIO’) investment model is on the rise. Market volatility, increased portfolio...
![Private Equity Secondaries - Sector in Brief](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/0c426ae346d064143c0853e25194e86b.jpg)
Private Equity Secondaries - Sector in Brief
Secondaries are under the spotlight due to a combination of surging fundraising activity, low pricing and investors’ current...
![Transaction Cost Analysis: Has Transparency Really Improved?](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/9960706afdb9629b49f802b7213528d6.png)
Transaction Cost Analysis: Has Transparency Really Improved?
Transaction cost analysis (TCA) awareness is on the rise, with equity and bond investors increasingly recognising trading as a...
![ESG Assessment Challenges in Investment Manager Due Diligence](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/a5b75c7b044d5008ee394244bf3e8547.jpg)
ESG Assessment Challenges in Investment Manager Due Diligence
When selecting and monitoring external investment managers, it is increasingly important to develop a clear understanding of...
![Feeling the Heat? Taking the Temperature of Equity Portfolios](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/768f45b5aa85bae7bb9c6f3b376f5389.jpg)
Feeling the Heat? Taking the Temperature of Equity Portfolios
Many investors and asset managers are now focused on achieving low carbon intensity.
![Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - August 2023](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/b4b57f9d360d3b9e1fda2a7bccf22d1d.jpg)
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - August 2023
bfinance’s quarterly report in August 2023: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...
![Investor Spotlight: Sweden’s AP7 Pushes Forward on Biodiversity](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/27226653ed6a2d8d736cf1d86b3a3818.jpg)
Investor Spotlight: Sweden’s AP7 Pushes Forward on Biodiversity
Martha Brindle, Director, Public Markets at bfinance sat down with Flora Gaber, Head of ESG Analysis at AP7, part of the Swedish...
![Accessing the Climate Transition through Liquid Alternatives](/images/thumbnails/mod_minifrontpagepro/3f522d39460a501fd2303b923086c92f.jpg)
Accessing the Climate Transition through Liquid Alternatives
Increasingly troubling news—from wildfire damage to sea temperature anomalies—continues to remind us about the urgency of action...