MandateWire Analysis
- James Baratta
- Oct 4, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 3
Previews of some stories I've written for MandateWire North America
Sixth Street secures $13bn strategic partnership, alternative investment managers end January on a high note
March 2025
Sixth Street Partners led the pack in January, attracting the highest net inflows of any asset manager as it secured a $13bn long-term strategic partnership with Northwestern Mutual. A handful of other alternative investment managers also won big during the first month of the year, according to MandateWire data.
CalPERS seeks alpha generation, portfolio resilience as it implements $100bn climate action plan
February 2025
The $528.5bn California Public Employees’ Retirement System will invest $100bn in climate solutions by the end of the decade. With five years to go and more than $50bn in investments across adaptation, mitigation and transition, Peter Cashion, managing investment director of sustainable investments, tells MandateWire the pension giant will seek to generate outperformance through allocations to climate solutions while building a more resilient portfolio.
Blackstone ends December with four mandate wins, asset owners commit $1.1bn to KKR’s buyout fund
January 2025
Alternative investment companies Blackstone and KKR scored major wins from North American institutional investors in the run-up to the new year. According to MandateWire data, Blackstone won the most mandates relative to its peers, while KKR secured more than $1bn in commitments over the month ending December 31 2024.
Western Asset’s outflows mount amid SEC probe, Mercer tapped to oversee $23bn in OCIO role
December 2024
North American asset owners continued to cut ties with Western Asset Management Company in November, terminating several mandates worth almost $2bn throughout the month, according to MandateWire data. This comes as Western Asset’s former co-CIO Ken Leech faces charges of fraud brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Cash rates, equity market rally cultivate consultant conviction in skilled stock pickers
November 2024
The elevated interest rate environment and equity bull market have created favorable conditions for long-short equity funds to recover from past outflows and underperformance. This comes as short rebates surpass dividend yields for the first time in 15 years, and equity valuation disparities across style and market capitalisation create opportunities for managers to generate meaningful returns.
Now ‘as good a time as ever’ to invest in hedge funds, consultants say
March 2024
Investment consultants have been revisiting the role of hedge funds with their institutional clients to address illiquidity risk and tactically allocate across capital markets. This comes after institutional investors retreated from the strategies last year.
NYC pension funds prioritise private markets for climate-related investments
January 2024
The New York City Retirement System, comprising of five retirement plans with over $254.4bn in assets, has sharpened its focus on energy transition and decarbonisation investments in private markets. This comes after four of the five plans recently approved higher target allocations to alternatives. Like some other North American pension funds, the city’s retirement system is among a growing number of institutional investors who have plans to advance their climate goals by ramping up allocations to green assets.
Asset owners review active versus passive split amid persistent market volatility
November 2023
Persistent volatility in the stock market has led some North American asset owners to customise their exposure to equities in ways that appropriately reflect their size, investment beliefs, resources and experience with different styles of investing. But as the active versus passive debate rages on, institutional investors find themselves striving to strike a balance between securing an active management risk premium and maintaining access to liquid, low-fee index investments.
Connecticut pension giant increases exposure to private markets in bid to boost returns
October 2023
The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds’ historic underperformance has come at no small cost. But the ailing retirement system, which consists of six pension plans and nine trust funds, could be turning the corner on its fiscal woes under the leadership of Connecticut state treasurer Erick Russell. He tells MandateWire how his office is “rightsizing” the $43bn portfolio in a bid to secure risk-adjusted returns for nearly 300,000 retirees.
North American asset owners eye infrastructure for reliable returns
August 2023
As transaction volumes in private equity and real estate dip to historic lows, institutional investors looking to boost returns are sharpening their focus on infrastructure. The asset class, which has attracted tens of billions of dollars in institutional capital in recent years, offers stable, long-term cash flows, often with inflation linkage and generally low-risk capital appreciation.
Real estate investors seek stable income as slowing property transactions dampen total returns
July 2023
As rising interest rates and banking turmoil hit US commercial property prices, increasingly cautious asset owners are weighing the prospects of income generation as a bulwark against the headwinds facing real estate.
Investors show sharper appetite for bonds
May 2023
North American asset owners have been piling into fixed income, particularly higher-yielding securities such as high-yield bonds and floating-rate loans, to diversify their portfolios and potentially achieve greater returns.
Asset owners show mixed appetite for CLOs
January 2023
In recent years, North American institutional investors have increased their exposure to collateralized loan obligations in a bid to reap extra returns and diversification benefits. However, some asset owners have become wary of these structures due to their targeting of leveraged loans amid rising interest rates, heightened market volatility, mounting recession fears and a historically low, yet climbing, default rate.
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