Asset Owners

Sunsuper and QSuper appoints CIO for combined entity; State Street appoints heads of HK and Taiwan; Nothern Trust rebuilds Apac team; Manulife IM names emerging markets fixed income CIO; RBC Wealth Management hires four into HK; Lombard Odier hires two senior equity managers; Allianz Global Investors appoints Asia hand as equity CIO; and more.

Investors from China and the US are expected to continue buying assets in each other’s markets despite the blacklist of Chinese firms with military and surveillance ties.

Stronger government actions are needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, investors such as Hesta and CDPQ signed in a statement.

Regional asset owners are still wary of volatile cryptocurrencies, but they say central bank-backed digital currencies could become investment friendly over the next five to 10 years.

Five asset managers get mandates from the Monetary Authority of Singapore that will see them setting up sustainability-focused operations in the city-state.

Greater China investors plan to increase exposure to exchange-traded funds, a new report finds, as HKEX waives fixed-income ETF fees and lists first ETF cross-listing with Shanghai.

Indonesia Hajj Fund Management Agency (BPKH) says that pandemic woes hit direct investment in 2020, but the fund remains firm in its commitment to using it as a tool to drive ESG change

Two asset owners - one from Korea and the other from the Philippines - describe how overseas and alternative assets are the best hedge against inflation and rate fears.

AsianInvestor's scoop on Markus Egloff leaving UBS for KKR was most read in May 2021, followed by our Asset Management Awards announcements, and rules changes in Singapore and Greater China.

GIC leads funding round for Indian insurer; Taiwan's BLF sees returns rebound; Korea's NPS adds two British investment firms as managers; HKMA to increase allocation to ESG stocks and bonds; US pension fund agency approves $300m to Blackstone Asia PE fund; UN PRI's chief executive steps down; and more

The country's lifers are seeking high-quality overseas assets to strike a balance between risk and return. However, new capital rules from 2023 are making these choices harder.

The Canadian pension fund aims to more than double its regional infrastructure investments by 2026, particularly in renewables, data centres, fibre networks and satellites.

The new chair of the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority wants to usher in wider investment choices. While well-intentioned, they could create new risks, warn experts.

Regional investors look set to seek more investments in the asset class, especially from North America and Asia, say senior executives at asset owners and fund houses.

Investors face unforeseen risks in their adoption of ESG strategies if they are not engaging actively - and observers say this remains still the case in many instances.

The investment industry lacks coherent sustainability standards, which makes applying them harder, said officials at asset owners and fund houses from Japan, Malaysia and Korea.

Some pensions from the country have indirectly invested into China via pan-Asia funds, while a few European pension investors have sold Chinese stocks over ESG concerns.

Once the poor cousin to the environmental pillar in ESG, a new report finds that issues around Covid are set to boost social investment over the next three years.

A lack of proper valuation tools, major volatility and questions around regulations and tax all prevent the digital currencies from gaining the favour of the nation's cautious asset owners.

Rising prices appear to be mostly transitory but could begin to pose broader concerns if they remain elevated for a long period, the asset owner believes.