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A Snapshot of Asset Allocators' Views

07 February 2024
5 min read

What You Need to Know

We spent several days in late January with a group of Chief Investment Officers and senior asset allocators. This was useful both as a way to hear the key concerns for a significant group of investors and as an opportunity to think about what one might do in response. The focus of the discussions was very much strategic, so (thankfully) the path of central-bank interest rates and soft versus hard economic landing were not among the topics. Instead, the debate was on structural macro forces, the long-term outlook for returns, how various parts of the investment industry might fare, and what all this means for the broader economy. In this short note, we will summarize a few of the key topics that we think are of general interest.

In terms of practical implications for portfolios, our conclusion is that a majority of institutional investors plan to increase further their allocation to private assets, but that there is much disagreement about what level of returns to expect (especially for private equity). There is also a range of views about the appropriate lens from which to view the risk of such assets, and a lot of discussion about the design of pension portfolios and what level of returns are required.


About the Authors

Inigo Fraser Jenkins is Co-Head of Institutional Solutions at AB. He was previously head of Global Quantitative Strategy at Bernstein Research. Prior to joining Bernstein in 2015, Fraser Jenkins headed Nomura's Global Quantitative Strategy and European Equity Strategy teams after holding the position of European quantitative strategist at Lehman Brothers. He began his career at the Bank of England. Fraser Jenkins holds a BSc in physics from Imperial College London, an MSc in history and philosophy of science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MSc in finance from Imperial College London. Location: London

Alla Harmsworth is Co-Head of Institutional Solutions and Head of Alphalytics at AB. She was previously head of European Quantitative Strategy at Bernstein Research. Prior to joining Bernstein in 2015, Harmsworth worked for two years on Nomura's Institutional Investor-ranked European Equity Strategy and Quantitative Strategy team. Her previous experience includes seven years at Fidelity as a quantitative analyst and portfolio manager, along with stints at Nikko Asset Management and ABN AMRO. Harmsworth holds a BA (Hons) and an MA in philosophy, politics and economics from University College Oxford and an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Location: London

Additional Contrbutors

Robertas Stancikas, Harjaspreet Mand and Maureen Hughes