Institutional investors from around Europe beat stiff competition to win prizes for innovation at CIO’s third annual awards held in London last week.
(APG’s Angelien Kemna, CIO’s Elizabeth Pfeuti & Nick Reeve)Sweden’s AP1 picked up the award for governance thanks to a substantial
overhaul of its internal structure while in the shadow of political reform.
Compatriot pension SPK took home the prize for portfolio construction after
ripping up its 20-year-old rule book and redefining its strategy last year.
From the UK, local authority funds shone with Cornwall and Lancashire pensions taking first place in the asset allocation category and schemes with more than €15 billion respectively.
Centrica, Pension Protection Fund, and the Royal Mail Pension Plan were also winners, while the National Employment Savings Trust and the TRW Pension Schemes filled out the rest of the roster.
Asset manager and other service provider categories saw a wide range of first-time nominees take home prizes for innovation—but several established names retained their titles.
The blue riband event was won by APG’s former CIO, now Chief Finance and Risk Officer, Angelien Kemna, who collected the award. Kemna spoke to dinner guests about her passion for her roles at Europe’s largest pension investor—and reminded them of the very real problems the industry was there to solve.
In the afternoon before the event, more than 35 of Europe’s largest institutional investors gathered for an off-the-record debate on the pressing issues of the day. To see if you qualify for an invite to next year’s event, please contact the editorial team.
For a full run down of the asset owner and asset manager/servicer winners, visit our events page.
Related content: I Don’t Want to Be a Role Model – Angelien Kemna, the reluctant face of an industry. & Class of 2014: CIO’s Innovation Award Winners