Global pension funds are showing a continued interest in alternative investments, but data released by Towers Watson this week suggests the funds are being more selective in their allocations.
The research revealed that almost half of the assets managed by the major alternative investment managers were managed on behalf of pension funds, and that the biggest player was Australian-based Macquarie Group.
The research revealed that Macquarie Group managed US$51.6 billion for pension funds, making it not only the largest infrastructure manager but also the largest manager of alternative investments covered by the Towers Watson global survey.
Drilling down to the top Australian alternative managers, the research ranked Macquarie as the leader followed by QIC in 38th place, AMP Capital Investors in 39th place, Industry Funds Management in 43rd place and Dexus Property Group in 54th place.
It is a measure of Macquarie’s exposure as an alternatives manager that it also ranked on the Towers Watson research in 55th place for its real estate asset class exposure, while Industry Funds Management also gained a double listing, coming in at 77th for its private equity fund of funds exposure.
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