Wednesday, July 18, 2018 Stamford, CT USA — In their ongoing search for the yield, German institutional investors are trimming allocations across fixed income and shifting funds to real assets and certain equity products. As they increase their exposure to these specialty asset classes, institutions are boosting the share of portfolio assets they outsource, thereby creating new opportunities for asset managers.
The 2018 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Overall German Institutional Investment Management, Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO, are well positioned to benefit from these shifts.
“These managers—which also took home the title of 2018 Greenwich Quality Leaders for Continental Europe as a whole—combine proficiency in specialty asset classes with world-class investment and client service platforms that allow them to help institutional investors form and implement these important changes to their strategies and portfolios,” says Greenwich Associates Managing Director Markus Ohlig.
Socially Responsible Investing
When it comes to the role of socially responsible investing (SRI) in the institutional market, Germany is becoming something of an outlier in Europe. The share of German institutions including SRI as an important consideration in their manager selection process stands at 32%.
By contrast, 97% of investors in the Netherlands and Finland include SRI as a key criterion in manager selection.
“As a population, Germans are right in step with other Europeans in terms of their commitment and even passion for environmental and social issues,” says Markus Ohlig. “But at the moment, is seems there is some disconnect between those cultural attitudes and the governance of large institutions.”
Click here for the full Greenwich Report and list of 2018 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Overall German Institutional Investment Management.