APG

The traditional portfolio manager, meticulously sifting through a hefty stack of research and diligently inputting annual reports into a valuation model, seems to be a fading image from the past. For banks and asset managers to stand out, they must wholeheartedly adopt artificial intelligence, posits Gerben de Zwart of APG, one of Europe’s largest asset managers, overseeing approximately 541 billion euros for Dutch pensioners.

While Canadian and Australian pension funds are set to increase their investments in infrastructure assets in the years ahead, their European counterparts are slow to recognize the benefits of this asset class, potentially missing out on additional returns they could achieve for their clients.

The increasingly stringent EU regime for green finance was discussed in Paris on Wednesday at the World Pensions Council conference. Pension fund APG believes that the EU approach has introduced “commercial incentives to go dark green”, exposing the industry to greenwashing. “I am not convinced that all the rules and regulations get the industry to do the right thing,” said Gert Dijkstra, senior managing director at APG.

A relatively new asset owner-led platform providing information needed to decide on sustainable development investments is gaining global traction now that the world’s biggest asset management firm Blackrock has decided to join as a subscriber.

As an example of the pressure put on the financial sector to respond to the urgency of climate change, Dutch education and government sector employee pension fund ABP is tightening up its investment policy. They explain this move by referring to reports on the climate crisis that have shown that it must move faster, and supporters are calling for action to be taken.