Video: Pension Funds and “Patient” Capital – How Patient Should They Be?

Here’s an interesting panel discussion that took place during the Milken Institute’s 2015 Global Conference.

The topic was “patient” capital – and how patient pension funds should be with their investment approach.

Panelists include:

* Jagdeep Singh Bachher – Chief Investment Officer at the University of California

* Janet Cowell – Treasurer of North Carolina and sole fiduciary for the North Carolina Retirement Systems

* Britt Harris – Chief Investment Officer of the Teachers Retirement System of Texas

From the video description:

While pension funds are still the leading source of “patient” capital, often deployed in financing infrastructure and building long-term business value, the amount they provide has declined markedly over the years.

Persistent low rates of return across conservative asset classes are prompting investors to stretch for return and yield by increasing their allocations to equities and alternative investments such as hedge funds, private equity and real estate. At the same time, the rise of short-term benchmarking, along with regulatory change, has led funds to shrink their time horizons.

Do funds have an ethical obligation to think long-term? Can pensions do that while meeting the demographically driven demand for payouts from their members? How can CIOs manage their portfolios and meet plan obligations in the current market environment? What changes are they weighing to their governance, compliance and asset allocation strategies as they reassess risk/return strategies?

Video source: Milken Institute

Photo by  Paul Becker via Flickr CC License