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POBA s Harry Song (second from left), GEPS Ro Seung Hwan (center), MMAA s Jang Eun Ho and Kyobo Life Insurance s Kim Chan Woo
South Korea s Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS), the Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) and the Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA) are shifting away from their defensive, core strategy-focused portfolios as they plan to sharply increase overseas real estate investments this year.
The GEPS, with 8.2 trillion won ($7.3 billion) in assets under management, is now looking to diversify into value-added and opportunistic investments, with the POBA raising exposure to non-core assets, their overseas alternative investment heads said on May 12.
The three pension and retirement funds all picked logistics and data centers and residential properties as their preferred asset classes, while shunning hotels and other retail assets that have not yet recovered from the impact of the global pandemic.
POBA CIO (second from left), Teachers Pension CIO (center), SEMA CIO (second from right), Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance executive director (far right)
South Korea s Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) has earmarked over 1 trillion won ($900 million) for new investments in overseas real estate this year, for which it will expand separately managed accounts (SMAs) and co-investment platforms because they ease the burden of due diligence, said its senior officials.
By asset type, the $15 billion retirement fund for South Korea’s local government employees is zooming in on residential, logistics and infrastructure properties in public-private partnerships (PPPs), its Chief Investment Officer Jang Dong-hun told a CIO panel session of the ASK Summit 2021 held in Seoul on May 12.
CIO PANEL DISCUSSION
Chief investment officers of the Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA: Jang Dong-hun), the Teachers Pension (Lee Kyu-hong) and the Korea Scientists and Engineers Mutual-Aid Association (Huh Sung-moo) will participate in a CIO panel discussion on May 12. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. Executive Director Jeon Kyung Chul will accompany them to the discussion.
POBA CIO Jang Dong-hun (second from left), Teachers Pension CIO Lee Kyu-hong (center) and SEMA CIO Huh Sung-moo (far right)
LP PANEL SESSIONS
For the hedge fund segment, three senior managers will share their views in a group discussion: Kim Jun Geun, NPS senior portfolio manager of the private equity and venture capital investment division; KIC s senior director of the alternative investment division s absolute returns group Yoon Sunghyun; and Korea Post s insurance arm Deputy Director of hedge fund investment Su Jin Lee..
APAC execs warn against complacency on inflation
Andrew Zurawski thinks investors should consider medium-term inflation risk.
Asset owners and analysts in the Asia-Pacific region are expecting an ephemeral spike in inflation this year but gatekeepers warn that the potential for longer-term challenges should be shaping asset allocation decisions.
While it s far from a certainty, we re definitely acknowledging the heightened risk of inflation over the medium term and we re advising clients to think about positioning for that, said Andrew Zurawski, associate director in Willis Towers Watson s research team in Hong Kong.
In the wake of last year s unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy response to the pandemic, the prospect of central bankers falling behind the curve in controlling inflationary pressures is a risk that we can t be complacent about, agreed Cameron Systermans, senior portfolio manager and head of mainstream investments, Japan with Mercer Investments (Japan) Ltd.