Weekly Fund Distribution Notes – 02 September 2025
16th October 2025
August wasn’t all about hanging loose on the beach, enjoying the dolce vita. In fact, the month was not short of market relevant events, allocation calls and interesting and also thought-provoking buy-side news. Last but not least, don’t forget to hug your fund managers.
We are back! Well, the newsletter is back after a short August break. August was another hot month. Not only in terms of temperatures here in Spain, but also in terms of market relevant events, mainly in the US. Unsurprisingly, investors are bracing for a potentially “hot” autumn and respective headlines are not short in supply.
In this context, the latest publication from the BlackRock Investment Institute suggests that investors should put more money into hedge funds amid warnings of economic uncertainty, inflation volatility and geopolitical instability. “We believe investors can hold up to 5 percentage points more in hedge funds today than they did before 2020.” This is actually the biggest hedge fund allocation increase ever (!) recommended by the institute, which by itself should provide some good food for thought. It goes on to say, “we believe, if you’re building longer-term portfolios today, you’d have a greater role for active strategies and hedge funds.” Well, you know our views on active funds based on strongly increasing searches for and also flows into active strategies. See also our chart of the week below.
Anyway, what’s the news from the fund selector side? Munich Re hired Erik Skacke from Velliv, Denmark’s third largest commercial pension fund, to replace Mia Söderberg, who left Munich Re in June. AkademikerPension hired Rikke Berg Jacobsen as the firm’s new head of ESG, coming from Nordea. Also in the Nordics, Markus Kristoffer Simenstad has started a new fund selection role at Pareto Securities. In Switzerland, Bruno Berther, the previous deputy head of the investment centre at Zuger Kantonalbank, has resurfaced at Zurich private bank Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank.
Citywire Selector also published a feature on Richard Rainback, global head of fund and ETF selection at EFG Asset Management, on red flags in fund selection (see link in the link section below covering the last 4 weeks); on what Guy Janssens, head of the investment specialists at BNP Paribas Fortis, looks for for his EUR 60 billion buy list; and on why Indosuez Wealth Management is still keen on secondaries private markets assets.
Citywire Selector also reissued selector statements on the secret formula for grabbing their attention with an introductory email. The respective sub-headlines say it all: “Get to the point”, “Get my attention”, “An elevator pitch” or “Don’t assume you know our needs better than we do”.
In terms of mandates, Man Group replaced Amundi to run a EUR 3 billion climate-focused mandate for Danish pension fund PenSam. Also in the Netherlands, Dutch pension manager APG handed London-based boutique InfraRed Capital Partners a mandate to run social infrastructure investment worth around EUR 260 million. In Sweden, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency handed out active and passive mandates focusing on domestic equities totalling EUR 14.2 billion to eight unsurprisingly domestic managers. In Switzerland, Lombard Odier handed a development finance fund mandate worth EUR 50 million to Triodos. The fund had previously been managed internally.
Dutch pension fund manager Achmea has picked Neuberger Berman as investment partner for a new PE impact fund focused on “healthy people in a healthy society” with a target size of EUR 250 million. Speaking of Neuberger, UK pension fund Railpen has awarded Neuberger Berman a securitised credit mandate, bringing assets of the partnership up to more than EUR 3.7 billion. Also in the UK, Schroders Greencoat has secured a EUR 530 million commitment for its energy transition infrastructure long-term asset fund from WTW, and Van Lanschot Kempen IM won a EUR 288 million fiduciary mandate from the UK-based ITN Pension Scheme. In Italy, Payden & Rygel was awarded a EUR 190 million multi-asset mandate by Italian pension fund Fondo Pensione Byblos. In Germany, Guinness GI won a EUR 50 million segregated mandate from an unnamed banking client.
What else? Plenty of interesting and some thought-provoking news in the link section below. Ignites Video released a video interview with us on traditional and private manager partnerships – in terms of product and also distribution. You can find some soundbites on LinkedIn (Link). If you can’t access Ignites, please feel free to get in touch with us for a full transcript.
August is done. Temperatures are dropping (to a pleasant 30-34 degrees here) and 2026 is just around the corner. Don’t forget to schedule your debrief session on our Biannual European Fund Distribution Report (released on 4 August 2025) or, even better, a 2026 strategy workshop at our offices in Valencia. However, visiting Valencia comes with a risk. We are not referring to the incredible Valencian vibe, the beaches nor the endless sunshine, but rather to Valencia being addictive. There are plenty of reasons why Valencia ranked 1st in Forbes as the best city worldwide for expats in 2022 and 2024. You may well get stuck here!
