Since the emergence of “Modern Portfolio Theory” and the “Capital Asset Pricing Model” in the late 1960s, institutional investors have taken a quantitatively driven approach to portfolio construction, looking to create portfolio diversification and obtain better risk-adjusted returns by balancing their asset-class exposures. This journey has seen several important advancements in thinking about how to optimally achieve desired results.
Funds that want to take the total portfolio approach first need to get the total portfolio view. To do that they not only need data – and lots of it – but a rock-solid understanding of exactly how they’re going to use it.
Pensions for Purpose impact group holds first Aussie event
John Donovan, the head of AFM Investment Partners, based in Melbourne, has organised the first ‘Pensions for Purpose’ event for an Australian audience, in conjunction with asset consultancy Atchison Consultants. The virtual ‘afternoon tea’ was held last week (September 15). Cameron Hume, an Edinburgh-based global fixed income manager, was a keynote participant.
Pensions for Purpose, a collaborative initiative including impact managers, pension funds and social enterprises, has hosted its ‘afternoon tea’ events in the UK, but this was the first time the event had been held specifically for the Australian market. The topic was ‘Fixed Income and Climate Risk’. Attendees were addressed by Guy Cameron, CIO and Alex Everett, investment analyst at Cameron Hume. Commentary was also provided by Karen Shackleton, head of Pensions for Purpose.
Guy Cameron said: “Cameron Hume seeks creative fixed income investment and cash management solutions to achieve sustainable returns. We work with our clients to ensure that climate risk and other ESG factors are integrated into portfolio management, and that our clients take on appropriately priced risks.”
Shackleton said: “Climate risk and ESG investing are becoming increasingly important factors in the Australian fixed income space and this is a field in which Cameron Hume has unrivalled expertise and knowledge.” After the event she said the audience found their insights tremendously useful and interesting.
Donovan’s AFM is a third-party marketing firm of which Cameron Hume is a client. He is a supporter of Pensions for Purpose and believes that a lot of Australian super funds share many of its aims. Pension for Purpose’s aim is to “promote understanding of ESG, sustainable and impact investment by effectively sharing news stories, blogs, case studies, academic research and thought leadership papers, and to act as a first port of call for journalists seeking comment on impact investment-related issues”. It also offers training sessions and discussion groups on these topics. It has 87 member “influencers”, the top category of membership. They are mainly big fund managers. It has 12 affiliate members and 14 network supporters. See: www.pensionsforpurpose.com
