White Paper

Investor appetite for investment grade fixed income grew significantly last year but active managers are coming under scrutiny. This report examines corporate bond manager performance and positioning after a period of mixed results.

Last month brought the announcement of a new Chief Investment Officer for London CIV – one of the eight asset pooling companies...

bfinance’s quarterly report in February 2024: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...

The year 2023 brought a slowdown in fundraising across private infrastructure funds – and private markets more broadly.

Recent years have brought significant developments for the GSS+ (Green, Social, Sustainability et al) fixed income market. There...

The Dutch pension industry is undergoing seismic shifts. Long-anticipated reforms enacted in July 2023 ushered in a Defined...

Strong market fundamentals and climate impact potential have driven a surge in institutional investor demand for ‘natural...

In October 2023, 61 senior endowment, foundation and charity/nonprofit investors across 16 countries contributed data and...

More than two decades have passed since the arrival of complementary pension provision in Italy, which brought with it a massive...

What does sustainable investing look like now in infrastructure? What are the major strategy/fund types available currently to...

bfinance’s quarterly report in November 2023: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...

In the landscape of ‘global’ active equity strategies, the pendulum has—slowly but surely—swung toward strategies that span both...

Thanks to recent guidance from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, UK charities became the latest cohort of...

New manager research from bfinance reveals the proliferation of ‘Emerging Markets ex-China’ equity strategies. This is now...

Active currency overlays and ‘currency for alpha’ managers struggled for much of the ‘ZIRP’ era. Now, divergence between major...

With around 15% of the portfolio in ‘liquid alternatives’ such as hedge funds and a full 45% in ‘alternative investments,’ the...

Italy's ecosystem of banking-originated Foundations is unique in the financial world. Created as part of a major banking system...

The ‘Outsourced Chief Investment Officer’ (or ‘OCIO’) investment model is on the rise. Market volatility, increased portfolio...

Secondaries are under the spotlight due to a combination of surging fundraising activity, low pricing and investors’ current...

Transaction cost analysis (TCA) awareness is on the rise, with equity and bond investors increasingly recognising trading as a...

When selecting and monitoring external investment managers, it is increasingly important to develop a clear understanding of...

Many investors and asset managers are now focused on achieving low carbon intensity.

bfinance’s quarterly report in August 2023: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...

Martha Brindle, Director, Public Markets at bfinance sat down with Flora Gaber, Head of ESG Analysis at AP7, part of the Swedish...

Increasingly troubling news—from wildfire damage to sea temperature anomalies—continues to remind us about the urgency of action...

The number of Shariah-compliant private market solutions has boomed in recent years, supporting investors that seek to improve...

At the end of 2022, the Canada Post pension plan joined the growing list of pension funds across the country whose highly funded...

Investors are grappling with cost management challenges amid persistent inflation, heightened ESG requirements and regulatory...

On 20th June 2023, investors gathered in London for a roundtable on the theme of biodiversity. Recent years have seen...

Less than a decade after the removal of capital controls that banned pension funds from investing assets overseas, Iceland is...

The past two years have seen huge growth in the availability of private market strategies that offer some degree of in-built...

Powerful forces have supported the growth and evolution of multi-manager models for ‘alternative’ investing over the past...

In a time of macroeconomic upheaval, bfinance’s fixed income team examines three popular beliefs in fixed income investing. In...

bfinance’s quarterly report in May 2023: read the team’s latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite,...

Next month will mark five years since Velliv (formerly Nordea Liv and Pension, Denmark) left its parent company—the banking...