Opinion
The Market Is Not Melting Down—It’s Moving Forward
How the concept of punctuated equilibrium, borrowed from scientific reviews, can help explain volatility and reduce investor anxiety.
News
Newsmakers
CalPERS Seeks Capital Markets Deputy CIO
The individual will oversee the California pension’s publicly listed investments and will succeed Dan Bienvenue.
Corporate Moves
Mercer, Mizuho Will Partner on OCIO Offerings in Japan
Under the bank’s Asset Management One subsidiary, the duo will offer outsourced CIO services to institutional clients.
Corporate Moves
Insurance AUM Has Tripled in Past Decade, Reaching $4.5T Last Year
Insurers are increasingly allocating to alternative investments, with private asset AUM growing to $800 billion from $50 billion since 2015, according to a report from Clearwater Analytics.
Asset Allocation
HESTA Dumps Mining Company Mineral Resources Stake due to Governance, Ethics Concerns
The $58 billion Australian superannuation fund also placed WiseTech on its watch list following four board resignations.
Newsmakers
Spider Management Names Karen Horn Welch as CIO
The university-owned investment office oversees the $3.2 billion University of Richmond endowment.
Asset Allocation
$125B Danish Pension Removes Defense Stocks From Blacklist
PFA, Denmark’s largest pension, will allow investments in select defense companies amidst an increase in European defense spending.
Manager Selection
Nest Seeds New Infrastructure Debt Fund With $708M Investment
The U.K. pension and IFM Investors intend to focus on the European market.
Pensions
LACERA Sues Former Security Officer for Fraud
The Los Angeles County pension fund alleges Carmelo Marquez, who worked on an interim basis, defrauded the organization by giving contracts to companies he owned.
Pensions
Corporate Pensions Were Best-Performing DB Plans in Q1
Fixed-income-heavy portfolios protected against market volatility, while defined benefit plans returned 0.52% overall.
Market Moves
Rising Discount Rates Drove Down Pension Liabilities in April
Corporate pension funding levels rebounded in April despite equity market volatility.
Pensions
Proposals Offer New Ways to Use Retirement Surpluses to Boost Benefits, Raise Revenue
American Benefits Council has pitched plans to redirect surplus funds from pension funds without terminating retirement plans.
Newsmakers
MacArthur Foundation Names Bola Olusanya CIO
He succeeds the retiring Susan Manske to oversee the nearly $9 billion endowment.
Newsmakers
PBGC Director Nominee Janet Dhillon Clears Senate HELP Committee
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12-11 to advance Dhillon's nomination to the full Senate.
Regulation
The Private Universities Affected by Proposed Tiered Endowment Tax
At least 41 colleges and universities would be subject to an expanded federal endowment tax, with several subjected to new, higher rates.