After the relaxed torpor of August, the liveliness of September came as a welcome change of gear. My latest sustainable networking event asking how the Labour government could make pensions more sustainable was a candid conversation of how policy makers and investors can work together. I spent much of the month in front of a microphone hosting two new podcasts for Pensions for Purpose. I also launched The Professional Investment Podcast with Dan Mikulskis and Gregg McClymont as the first two guests on the show. Two new articles for MandateWire were published. One looked at how interest for fixed income strategies has picked up among pension schemes while the other looked at what the government needs to do to attract infrastructure investors. And I still managed to squeeze in a week of late summer sunshine in Greece!
How does the Labour government improve sustainability in pensions?
It was great to be back in the Betsey with a audience keen to hear the four panellists – Faith Ward, Simon Jones, Veronica Humble and Keith Guthrie – had to say about how to the government can make pensions more sustainable. The five of us squeezed onto a small stage which added to the cosy nature of the chat and gave us the added challenge of making sure no-one fell off! The conversation was educational and entertaining with all participants feeling relaxed enough to be candid in their conversation. The next event is on Wednesday, 13 November when we will be discussing making fixed income sustainable. Get in touch if you would like to come.
Investing in timberland
This was such a fun podcast to host for Pensions for Purpose! Stephen Levesque has a fabulous job title − managing director of forest operations at Campbell Global, a J.P. Morgan company. I enjoyed chatting to him and David Brown, senior director for Pensions for Purpose, about the role of timberland in mitigating climate change and how to ensure tree plantations add rather than detract from biodiversity. There’s plenty for everyone here − the conversation ranges from owls and Vikings to yields and carbon capture. Have a listen.
Organisational maturity
You know those satisfying moments when someone puts into words those half-formed thoughts you have floating round your brain? Hosting this podcast was half-an-hour of feeling that way! This was an insightful conversation with Stuart Woollard, co-founder of The Maturity Insitute, and Karen Shackleton, founder of Pensions for Purpose, about how organisations should value their workforce and why taking a strictly financial approach to headcount can create long-term damage. I learnt a lot – give this podcast a listen.
NVIDIA’s market shake-up with Dan Mikulskis, CIO of The People’s Partnership
In the first ever episode of The Professional Investment Podcast, Dan Mikulskis explains why he choose NVIDIA’s record $279bn one-day loss in market value as his news story of the week. We discuss whether concentration risk should be of concern of investors, what the impact of tech stock volatility is for passive investors and how People’s Partnership design their default fund to build wealth for their six million members. The podcast is available both in video – yes, video! – and audio formats.
Spending cuts and UK pension investment with Gregg McClymont, executive director at IFM
In the second episode of The Professional Investment Podcast Gregg McClymont joins me to discuss how the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is being warned spending cuts could damage the UK economy. We talk about the fiscal dilemmas facing the government, how that could impact the economy and the role UK pensions schemes could play in bolstering growth. We had a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion about how the government and institutions can share the risks and the rewards of investment. The podcast is available in both video and audio formats.
Pension schemes put corporate debt back on the agenda
Institutional investment appetite for fixed income has picked up over the last year. That’s because the total yield on corporate and sovereign debt is now comparable to a low long-term equity assumption for the first time in a decade. This feature for MandateWire takes a look at how different pension schemes are interested in different fixed income strategies. Closed DB schemes are interested in fixed income to diversify their asset base while those thinking about in buyout want buy-and-maintain mandates. And DC want ‘evergreen strategies’ such as active global corporate funds.
UK government must pull ‘every lever available’ to attract infrastructure investors
The ambition is clear: the government wants to make the UK a renewable energy superpower with a state-owned energy company similar to France’s EDF or Denmark’s Ørsted. But investors are waiting to see if policy makers will take the necessary actions to turn this goal into a reality. This article for MandateWire looks at what the government needs to do to encourage greater institutional investment. Changes include tackling regulatory red tape and being prepared to be unpopular to ensure projects go ahead. It’s less about prodding investors and more about making the UK more investable.
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