Allocations

The removal of restrictions on asset holdings by Solvency II, coupled with low fixed income returns, is encouraging insurers to allocate more cash to alternatives.

Japan’s largest pension plan has issued an RFP for investment consultants to advise on its underweight alternatives portfolio.

The pension fund is committing $375m and $400m to two firms it invested with last December.

The Australian super fund said in August that it was aiming to deploy about A$1bn through direct investments in infrastructure.

Bruce Zimmerman has announced his resignation with no immediate successor to the top role at the $35.9bn endowment, which has a 13.8% allocation to infrastructure.

Brookfield’s third fund broke an industry record for size. Infrastructure head Sam Pollock, renewable energy CEO Sachin Shah and managing partner Justin Beber tell Joel Kranc how Brookfield built up to this point and what’s next.

The advisory scope for potential candidates includes private equity, credit, real assets and opportunistic investments.

The multilateral is considering investing up to €140m in Deutsche Asset Management’s latest vehicle, which will focus on the transport, energy and telecoms sectors.

Not everybody thinks assets available through the stock market provide the same benefits as their private counterparts.