Taiwan

The state pension fund’s deputy director general spoke to AsianInvestor about its plans for the equity portfolio, which is likely to be split between five sizeable asset managers.

By including Formosa bonds as overseas investments, the island's financial regulator could put limits on life insurer buying in order to encourage more investment at home.

That should please the local regulator, although more could be done to encourage Taiwanese insurers to invest more at home.

The Bureau of Labor Funds is focused on adding environmental, social and governance factors into its overall portfolio to cater to a rising interest in these areas by younger people.

A year into his role as director general of the Bureau of Labor Funds, Tsay Feng-ching discusses how he is installing his philosophy to guide the pension fund's investing.

The US asset manager aims to open an office as a master agent in Taiwan this year so it can distribute its own funds onshore, said Asia ex-Japan head Michael Thompson.

ESG initiatives in Asia often tend to be a lot of hot air but at Taiwan's Cathay Life it is at the heart of the investment decision-making process, its CIO tells AsianInvestor.

We are identifying 20 outstanding executives who are driving the region's pension funds forward. Today, we feature leaders from Japan's Aisin Employees' Pension Fund and Taiwan's BLF.

The $124 billion state retirement fund is giving out an ESG mandate that tracks a sustainability index that is newly launched in Taiwan.

The $124 billion Taiwanese state pension fund plans to ramp up its exposures in Europe and Japan on the back of a set of encouraging signs of reform in both regions.

Central bank heads could be replaced in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan in the coming three months. Whether the incumbents stay or not, all four face important policy challenges.

Wealth managers at the island's banks are facing increasing criticism over their habit of “churning” clients into new funds. It is fragmenting the industry's overall asset base.

Cathay Life and Shin Kong Life have been upping their exposure to emerging market bonds. They and Fubon Life have also generated strong returns from high-dividend stocks.

The $125 billion state fund is seeking managers for 15 mandates for its first overseas absolute-return equity portfolios, as it seeks to counter expected volatility in global markets.

The $19 billion Public Service Pension Fund has invited pitches for its first global total-return fixed-income mandates. Four managers will each get $200 million.

The $126 billion state pension fund will hand out the new overseas-focused mandate in mid-November, amid rising volatility in global markets.

AllianceBernstein, Allianz GI, Eastspring, Franklin Templeton, JP Morgan AM and Schroders again win programme awards in Taiwan. But there are concerns on potential polarisation.

Asian institutional investors look set to look for more factor-based strategies over the next five years, probably at the cost of lower passive or active strategies, a study by Invesco shows.

The Bureau of Labor Funds, Cathay Life and Fubon Life are upbeat about the move to allow domestic asset managers to launch private equity funds.