Leaders in Investment - IPE

In this episode of Leaders in Investment, Robert-Jan Foortse, Managing Director of European Real Estate at APG, manager of the Netherlands’ largest pension fund, discusses the fund’s real estate allocation, its attitude to risk and the impact it is creating via a €5bn investment in Dutch affordable housing. The conversation also includes the fund’s increased appetite for pri...

In conversation with Liam Kennedy, Editorial Director, IPE. In this episode of IPE’s Leaders in Investment, Rasmus Bessing, Co-Chief Investment Officer Responsible Investments and Investment Products and PFA – Denmark’s largest pension – discusses the fund’s decision to create an ESG framework to guide their investment in defence across asset classes. The conversation...

In conversation with Liam Kennedy, Editorial Director, IPE. In this episode of IPE’s Leaders in Investment, Cecile Retaureau, Head of Private Markets for retirement and insurance provider Standard Life, discusses how the transfer of DB pensions risk and the growth of defined contribution, pensions and retail savings products are fuelling the company’s growing private markets allocation...

In this episode of IPE’s Leaders in Investment, Marija Simpraga and Raymond Wright, Co-Heads of Real Assets at People’s Partnership discuss how they are building their fund’s £4bn real assets investment portfolio from the ground up, focusing on the manager selection process for their infrastructure mandate; their goal of becoming a reliable partner of choice for co-investme...

In this episode of IPE’s Leaders in Investment, Harold Clijsen, CEO and Anne Kock, Investment Committee Chair and Trustee of Pensioenfonds PGB talk about how they make investment decisions for the fund, a conglomerate of 16 pension fund sector clients serving more than 4,000 companies for upward of 450,000 employees. They discuss their fund’s shift toward more illiquid  assets, in...

In conversation with Liam Kennedy, Editorial Director, IPE. In this episode of IPE’s Leaders in Investment, Simon Pilcher, CEO of USS Investment Management, asset manager for the UK’s £77bn Universities Superannuation Scheme discusses their role as a universal owner, the advantages of running an open defined benefit scheme and successfully moving the scheme from a deficit positio...

In this episode of Leaders in Investment, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy speaks with Manfred Brenner and Poul Thybo, CIO and Head of Investments respectively for Austrian pension fund APK. Manfred Brenner and Poul Thybo, CIO and Head of Investments respectively for Austrian pension fund APK discuss their portfolio allocation, strategic thinking across many asset classes, as well as their view...

In this episode of Leaders in Investment, Tom Mergaerts, CEO of Belgium’s not-for-profit Amonis pension discusses his investment philosophy, the dangers of inflation and his goal of making Amonis the provider of choice for all of Belgium’s self-employed liberal professionals. Themes include the special duty to the self-employed, who have no employer or sponsor to fall back on; choosing...

In this episode, Stephen O’Neill, Head of Infrastructure & Natural Capital at NEST Invest – the £55bn, 13 million member DC master trust which holds the savings of one in three UK workers – offers his perspective on themes including the energy transition as a tailwind for the renewables sector; the rationale behind Nest’s investment in IFM Investors; the fund&rsqu...

This episode of Leaders in Investment was recorded live on stage at the IPE Real Assets Infrastructure & Natural Capital Global Conference & Awards in Rotterdam. In the interview Jan-Willem is interviewed by IPE Real Assets Editor in Chief Richard Lowe. They discuss why pension funds should look to take back their power and invest for the long term, seeking strong societal value; how APG p...

In this episode of Leaders in Investment, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy speaks with Dan Mikulskis, CIO of the People’s Partnership, non-profit provider of The People’s Pension, the £36bn DC master trust about a variety of topics including delivering value for scheme members; the fund’s insistence on stewardship alignment with its external managers; future retirement p...

In this episode Arjan van Wieren of €150bn Dutch fiduciary manager MN explains the four distinct risk factors that are incorporated into each mandate, the potential investment impact of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, and megatrends likely to affect real assets investments. "I think that Europe as a continent is trying to be less dependent on global economies and the supply chain and theref...

In Episode #18 Adam Matthews discusses the impetus behind the Commission’s formation, its collaboration with pension funds from around the world and how its work in the extractives sector provides a roadmap for investors looking to implement transparency and reporting standards in other sectors. “When [mining] goes wrong, often it can have huge implications. It can have huge environmen...

In Episode #17 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, Paul Clark, who recently retired from his position as Head of Real Assets Europe at AustralianSuper, discusses the changes he has seen in the industry over nearly 40 years, his certainty that the world’s great cities will survive and endure, and why global investors are likely to bring forward allocations to European real es...

In Episode #16 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, Barry Kenneth, Chief Investment Officer of the Pension Protection Fund – the £39bn UK pensions ‘lifeboat’, speaks with IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy about seizing opportunities in the wake of the 2022 gilt crisis, his thoughts on interest rate duration, and equity investment as a key driver of growth....

In Episode #15 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, Tracy Blackwell CBE, Chief Executive Officer of £50bn UK bulk annuity provider PIC, speaks with IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy about their investment mix, how financial regulation is constraining investment and the insurer’s commitment to ESG. ‘Not enough leaders put their head above the parapet and talk abo...

In Episode #14 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy speaks with Günther Schiendl, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Austria’s VBV Pensionskasse, discussing the fund’s asset allocation, the overall regulatory environment and why they are prioritising investments in private markets and European sustainable infrastructure. &ldquo...

In Episode #13 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy speaks with Morten Nilsson and Wyn Francis of Brightwell, the main service provider to BT pension scheme, which, with more than £35bn and 250,000 members, is the largest single employer corporate pension scheme in the UK. “Technology, especially AI, is transforming how we manage data...

In Episode #12 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, Jaakko Kiander, Chief Executive Officer of Keva, Finland’s largest pension provider, speaks with IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy. 'Until a couple of years ago, it was a rule that we shouldn’t invest in arms... Now, we think it’s socially responsible to invest in the European arms industry.’ Keva, Finlan...

In Episode #11 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, Joe McDonnell, Chief Investment Officer of UK Local Government Pension Scheme pool Border to Coast speaks with IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy. ‘Asset owners are going to work much more closely together. I think that's going to be a huge feature of the market over the next five or six years.’ Liam Kennedy interviews Joe McDonnell, C...

In Episode #10 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy interviews professor Dirk Schoenmaker, Investment Committee Chair, PFZW. ‘Let’s face the music – a large part of the economy still has to go through the transition, and we want to help them out.’ Noted finance professor Dirk Schoenmaker and longtime leader in the Netherlands’ financial sector chairs t...

In Episode #9 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy interviews Michael Wissell at HOOPP “Within HOOPP we are tenaciously focused on liquidity because it’s an enabler of tomorrow’s returns if something were to go bump in the night.” Michael Wissell, Chief Investment Officer of HOOPP has spent 20 years at the coal face of Canadian pensions. Overseeing the...

In Episode #8 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Real Assets editor Richard Lowe interviews Patrick Kanters, CIO Private Markets, APG  "The asset-owner programme allows us ultimately to write these bigger tickets and access transactions that would otherwise not be available" As CIO of private markets at APG, Patrick Kanters oversees a €150bn-plus portfolio of real estate infrastruc...

In Episode #7 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Editorial Director Liam Kennedy interviews Mark Fawcett, CEO of Nest Invest.  “We're doing something really valuable for UK society and for our members, who tend to be lower paid.” As Head of Investment and CEO of NEST Invest, Mark Fawcett is in charge of the long-term savings of 12 million defined contribution pension holders in the...

In Episode #6 of IPE’s Leaders in Investment podcast series, IPE Real Assets editor Richard Lowe interviews Marieke van Kamp, head of private markets at NN Group.     “One the one hand, there is the need for more private assets; at the same time, the M&A market is slow. That is a strength – managers are very picky at what they do. But it needs a different kind of steering towards desired expos...