Marvin OnumonuPeople’s Pension has appointed Robeco to manage its £3.6bn emerging market equity portfolio.
This moves the pension scheme from a passive to an active quantitative strategy for its emerging markets investments.
The aim is to achieve higher risk-adjusted returns and better align with the scheme’s responsible investment policy.
People’s Pension made the decision after seeing structural challenges in emerging markets and indices and wanted an investment approach that allows for long-term, risk-controlled outcomes.
Robeco was chosen after a nine-month selection process run by the equity team at People’s Partnership, the provider of People’s Pension.
The process considered seven key factors, including performance, portfolio construction, team resources, risk management, firmwide considerations, responsible investment, and partnership capabilities.
Mark Condron, chair of the People’s Pension trustee board, said: “Today’s announcement is fantastic news for our seven million members as Robeco is committed to enabling us to deliver the very best returns.
“Forming strong partnerships – such as the one we are forging with Robeco – is central to our strategy.
“This development is consistent with our aim to deliver the very best returns to members with a best-in-class RI approach.”
Dan Mikulskis, chief investment officer at People’s Partnership, said: “The appointment of Robeco by the Trustee is the culmination of an exhaustive search for a partner that aligns to our core investment beliefs.
“Their cutting-edge approach will enable us to maximise the very best value from emerging markets.
“Our belief is that a selective active investment approach will lead to better returns for members.”
Mikulskis added: “This is the latest step towards us achieving our goal of becoming a world class asset owner.”
Weili Zhou, head of quant investing & research, deputy CIO at Robeco, said: “We are proud to have earned the trust of People’s Pension to manage their emerging markets equity portfolio and to have become one of their strategic partners.
“Their bespoke solution leverages our market-leading quantitative investment expertise, combined with our proprietary sustainable investment frameworks and innovations.
“We look forward to working closely with People’s Pension – a valued strategic partner – to deliver the best outcomes for their UK members.”
