According to a survey by Natixis Global Asset Management carried out internationally and which involved over 500 institutional investors, mainly from the public and private pension world, 85% of Italian institutional investors believe that the population does not have enough financial resources to ensure a good standard of living in retirement.
Due to the financial crisis of recent years and the use of traditional investment methods, the portfolios of Italians do not seem built to meet future needs. The majority of Investors (70%) in fact underlined the need to change investments towards non-traditional approaches such as volatility management strategies, smart betas and infrastructure investments that allow long-term capital growth and more efficient portfolio risk management. With particular reference to Italian investors, 48% plan to increase their exposure to equities, 43% to emerging markets and 40% to real estate. 81% of study participants believe that alternative strategies will yield better results than in 2012.
In particular, the study shows that 60% of Italian institutional investors have already introduced asset and liability management within their portfolios, a figure well above the 46% recorded internationally. "If we look at the situation that existed just a few years ago, the percentage of institutional investors who used asset and liability management strategies within their portfolios was close to zero" - comments Antonio Bottillo, Chief Executive Officer for Italy of Natixis Global Asset Management -. “It is significant that today we have reached 60%, a sign that there is an increasing need for techniques that allow us to help our customers achieve long-term goals”.
“The data demonstrates once again how Italian institutional investors are looking for more suitable tools that are able to combine long-term capital growth and defense against market shocks”, adds Antonio Bottillo. “Precisely to address these needs, we believe that a risk-oriented approach, even before the yield, is able to navigate through different market phases in order to ensure adequate financial resources for its future".
Attachments: Natixis Global AM Research on Institutional Investors
