Local Government Pension Scheme investment strategies – investments for the new “normal”...
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Transcript of Local Government Pension Scheme investment strategies – investments for the new “normal”...
Local Government Pension Scheme investment strategies – investments
for the new “normal”Finance
Roy Nolan
Slide 2
The New Normal?
Economic environment for schemes where low interest rates, higher inflation and lower investment
returns in developed economies depress schemes’ real asset
performance while keeping their liabilities high (PwC)
Slide 3
Newham’s Strategic Asset Allocation
5%
5%12%
10%13%
55%Equities
Property
Private Equity
Infrastructure
Diversifed Alternatives
Bonds
Slide 4
LAPF Investment Magazine 2012
• June – Newham ranked 1st of 107 authorities for investment income growth in year ended 31/03/2011
• December - Newham ranked 7th of 107 authorities, with three year average investment income growth of 22.53% (three year average investment income growth )
Slide 6
Speaking of Liabilities……
2007 2013 Percentage Change
Active Members 7,180 6,381 11%
Deferred 4,016 6,799 69%
Pensioners 5,709 6,574 15%
Slide 7
Active Members Profile
74% of active members are over 40:
Age Group Percentage of Active Members
20-29 8%
30-39 18%
40-49 34%
50-59 33%
60+ 7%
Slide 8
Are we in the new normal? Asset prices are rallying…
• All developed economy indices are up sharply from mid-2012
• Nikkei up over 50% since November
• Bond yields continue to track downwards everywhere – not just in developed economies
Slide 9
…on paper only
• The equity rally is mostly about the debasement of paper money through QE: all real assets (including gold) have increased in cash value – because cash is losing value
Total return index, 1970 Q1 = 100
Global equity prices, in units of gold
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05 10
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
QE
Slide 10
Rally bought with monetary policy…
• Policy rates at all-time lows• Central bank balance sheets (cumulated QE) at all-time highs• Combined impact: unparalleled monetary stimulus
Per cent
G4 policy rates
US EA Japan UK
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
USD, trillions
Central bank assets
Eurosystem Fed BoJ BoE
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
06 07 08 09 10 11 12
0.0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
15.0
Slide 11
…but fundamentals remain weak
Index, 1990 = 100
UK marginal product of capital
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
80 85 90 95 00 05 1065
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
• Real fixed investment returns very low now thanks to the credit boom of the last decade
• Private banks in developed economies supplied that credit, and are now
sitting on large stocks of potentially bad assets.
Slide 12
Caution: zombies everywhere…
• The result of weak fundamentals and massively supportive monetary policy is creeping zombification of advanced economies.
• At old-normal monetary policy settings, these zombies would be financially dead. New-normal monetary policy keeps them alive, and gradually infecting the rest of the economy, locking us into the new normal.
• Zombies do not stay at home watching TV. They like to get out and about…
Slide 13
…except in the US
• Bad assets in the US banking sector have largely been written off (zombies have been slain), so the US economy is poised for growth
• Not so in the UK (or elsewhere in the developed world)
Per cent of disposable income
US debt writedowns
Secured Unsecured
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Per cent of disposable income
UK debt writedowns
Secured Unsecured
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Slide 14
What to avoid in the new normal?
• Missing the QE inspired rally in all asset prices: likely to be lots more QE now that Japan has entered the “ugly currency race”. Some yields could go negative.
• Being trapped in low or negative real portfolio returns after that.
• Ideally, go overweight in assets that participate in the QE rally but have a chance of generating positive real returns in the long run. US and EM equities fit the bill.
Slide 15
Macro matters, but is difficult
Index, January 2005 = 100
Hedge fund indices
DJ CS hedge fund
DJ CS hedge fund - global macro
S&P 500
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream / Fathom
00 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 1250
100
150
200
• Outperformance has come not just from diversification but from macro views, in spite of the fact that consensus macro forecasts have been dreadful
• Vital to think not just about the mean but also (more importantly) the risks to the macro outlook