Research Insights: Do Sovereign Wealth Funds and Pension Funds Sacrifice Financial Returns to Follow Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Strategies?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Hoffmann ◽  
Tristany Armangue i Jubert ◽  
Eric Parrado
Keyword(s):  
Pension Funds ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Financial Returns ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds

The Rise of State-Owned Investors: Sovereign Wealth Funds and Public Pension Funds

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Megginson ◽  
Diego Lopez ◽  
Asif I. Malik
Keyword(s):  
Hedge Funds ◽  
Private Equity ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Public Pension ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds

State-owned investors (SOIs), including sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds, have $27 trillion in assets under management in 2020, making these funds the third largest group of asset owners globally. SOIs have become the largest and are among the most important private equity investors, and they are key investors in other alternative asset investments such as real estate, infrastructure, and hedge funds. SOIs are also leaders in promoting environmental, social, and governance policies and corporate social responsibility policies in investee companies. We document the rise of SOIs, assess their current investment policies, and describe how their state ownership both constrains and enhances their investment opportunity sets. We survey the most impactful recent academic research on sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, and their closest financial analogs, private pension funds. We also introduce a new Governance-Sustainability-Resilience Scoreboard for SOIs and survey research examining their role in promoting good corporate governance. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Financial Economics, Volume 13 is November 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals DETERMINANTS INFLUENCING PENSION FUND INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE IN KENYA

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Anthony Kyanesa Mutula ◽  
Dr. Assumptah Kagiri
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression Model ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Investment Performance ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Fund Investment ◽  
Regulation Compliance

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the determinants influencing pension fund investment performance in Kenya.Methodology: The study employed a descriptive research design. The study target population was all the 33 registered pension funds in Kenya, and the sample size was 66 senior employees involved in decision making. The study adopted a census approach and therefore data was collected from all the 33 registered pension funds. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the selected respondents. The data collected was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. The software was used to produce frequencies, descriptive and inferential statistics which was used to derive generalizations and conclusions regarding the population. Multiple linear regression model was used to measure the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The study findings were presented using figures and tables.Results: The study findings revealed a positive and significant relationship between diversification decisions, management competency, investment strategies, regulation compliance and investment performance of pension funds in Kenya.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that the management of pension funds should establish a strong organization structure and policy implementation, which will enhance their portfolio composition; the firms should have highly competent management; should incorporate investment literacy and capability programs in their organizations; and should continue adhering to the set regulations.

scholarly journals Social Investment by Union-Based Pension Funds and Labour-Sponsored Investment Funds in Canada

2002 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Quarter ◽  
Isla Carmichael ◽  
Jorge Sousa ◽  
Susan Elgie
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Funds ◽  
Fund Investment

Summary This study has two objectives: first, to understand the extent of social investment among union-based pension funds as well as labour-sponsored investment funds in Canada; second, to understand the factors that affect social investment strategies among such funds. A national sample of 189 pension funds with assets of at least $50 million was drawn from the Canadian Pension Fund Investment Directory (Toronto: Maclean Hunter). The sample also included 10 labour-sponsored investment funds, half the number of such funds in Canada. The data indicate that pension funds in Canada have minimal social investment. There is somewhat higher social investment among labour-sponsored investment funds, and particularly labour-sponsored investment funds with genuine union sponsorship. The study also explored factors related to social investment by funds.

scholarly journals The Importance and Perspectives of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the Globalised Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 03006
Author(s):  
Jan Černohorský ◽  
Kateřina Tesnerová
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds ◽  
Specific Investment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Given ◽  
Asset Managers

Research background: The ever-increasing degree of globalization is reflected, among other things, in the establishment of relatively new institutional investors - sovereign wealth funds. Until the financial crisis in 2008, these funds were considered by many developed countries to be a potential threat to national security. However, this changed when they invested large sums in bankrupt companies and banks during the crisis. However, fears of their influence remain. Purpose of the article: The paper aims to assess the importance and perspectives of sovereign wealth funds in the world economy. In this paper, we start with the definition of sovereign wealth funds and distinguish them from other state asset managers. We also focus on assessing their importance within the global investor portfolio and their impact on global economic development. Methods: We used an analysis of available financial and economic data related to their activities and comparison with selected asset managers. Findings & Value added: We discuss their specific investment strategies and their transparency, which affect their credibility. Within the evaluation, the positive benefits outweigh the risks of sovereign wealth funds. However, we should always assess in the context of a specific sovereign wealth fund. The importance of sovereign wealth funds and their impact will continue to grow, even though their relative share of the global financial market is not very high. Thanks to their long-term investments, they contribute to greater stability of the financial markets of the given countries.

scholarly journals Value Judgments at the Heart of Green Transformation: The Leverage of Pension Fund Investors

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Monika Berg
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Public Pension ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Value Judgments ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Public Pension Fund ◽  
Investment Capital ◽  
Transformative Function

Abstract As the urgency for green transformation grows, the question of whether finance capital can be harnessed to promote green transformation has been raised. Public pension funds are of particular interest since they are publicly governed, have long-term interest, and are growing in proportion to the global investment capital. However, transformative change demands a reprioritization of fundamental values in terms of trade-offs among economic, environmental, and social ends. This article identifies shifts in value judgments in public pension fund investments and particularly focuses on the institutional constraints by which value (re)priorities are resisted by investigating Swedish public pension funds. While there are signs of environmental embedding of the economy, I also note neutralization of the role and investment strategies of the funds, which has a stabilizing rather than a transformative function. The neutralization constrains deep green transformation, which demands politicization of the role of institutional investors.

Financialisation and the Pension System: Lessons from the United States and the Netherlands

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 554-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natascha van der Zwan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Pension System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
The State ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Private Pensions ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Pension Systems

Financialisation and the Pension System: Lessons from the United States and the Netherlands The articles explores the financialisation of private pensions in the United States and the Netherlands. It proposes two distinct arguments. First, the article shows that both the American and the Dutch pension systems stand out internationally for their high degrees of capitalisation and the absence of substantive investment restrictions for pension funds. The article posits that both pension systems are highly financialised, yet the process of financialisation has proceeded along different historical paths and within different institutional contexts. Secondly, the article maintains that the financialisation of pension systems is accompanied by its own political dynamics. In both political economies, different groups of actors (employers, labour unions, financial professionals) have made claims over the growing concentration of pension assets. Here, particular emphasis is given to the role of the state. It shows how since the mid-1970s, both American and Dutch pension funds have altered their investment strategies, abandoning public debt as the dominant investment category. The article explains this change in terms of the rising popularity of modern portfolio theory and the immense growth of pension capital in need of new investment options. As austerity politics have made governments more dependent on financial markets, pension funds have become more assertive in leveraging their assets and demanding political reform which are in the interest of the financial industries. Financialisation has thus fundamentally altered the balance of power between the state and financial market actors.

Rethinking Pension Fund Investment Strategies

1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Richard Brownlee ◽  
S. Brooks Marsha
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Pension Fund ◽  
Pension Plan ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Fixed Income ◽  
Fixed Income Securities ◽  
Economic Entity ◽  
Tax Arbitrage ◽  
Fund Investment

This paper addresses the need for companies to reexamine their pension fund investment strategies because of certain changes that occurred during the 1980s that enhanced the attractiveness of fixed-income securities. Of primary importance was the issuance of a new pension accounting standard that substantially changed the determination of annual pension expense, pension plan asset and liability recognition, and pension footnote disclosures. Both the concepts and the information resulting from the pension standard have promoted a more integrative perspective of the relationship between pension funds and their corporate sponsors. This broadened perception of companies and their pension funds comprising a single economic entity has important financial consequences for corporate managements and capital providers. One such consequence pertains to pension portfolios. Fixed-income securities become a more desirable pension fund investment for two principal reasons: they reduce financial reporting risk without increasing economic risk and they are an integral component of corporate tax arbitrage, a strategy initially proposed by Fischer Black in the early 1980s.

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