Pension Passport

As an emerging market, South Africa has gone through some challenging times and isn’t out of the woods yet. What reforms are on the political agenda? How are trade tensions between the U.S. and China having a ripple effect on smaller markets like South Africa? This episode will explore investing in South Africa and how it may fit into a pension funds’ overall emerging market portfolio. We’re joined by Dr. Falilou Fall, who is a senior economist at the OECD* and Michael Bolliger, head of the emerging market asset allocation team at UBS Wealth Management’s chief investment office.

 *While Fall works at the OECD, in his capacity on this podcast he is not representing the official view of the OECD or any member countries.

As one of the most populous country’s in the world, with further growth on the horizon, is Indonesia too big for foreign institutional investors to ignore? This episode will investigate this country of islands and explore how the economy is evolving, with particular attention given to attractive investments for those with lots of patient capital to deploy. Are asset managers eyeing the country’s infrastructure gap as an opportunity? We’re joined by Gareth Leather, Asia economist from Capital Economics and Josef Pilger, global pension and retirement leader at EY.

South Korea’s growth has been fast and furious. This episode will explore the country’s economic progress, how it fared during the Asian financial crisis and the 2008 financial crisis and where institutional investors interested in South Korea could look to allocate. How is the China-U.S. trade war impacting the country? And what sectors show promise? We’re joined by Dr. Michael Seth from James Madison University, Troy Stangarone, senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute and Michael Oh, a portfolio manager at Matthews Asia.

Brazil is in flux, with a new government and pension reform on the agenda. But how healthy is its economy and how can foreign institutional investors access opportunities in this emerging market? This episode will explore the Brazilian economy, its stock market and investment risks and opportunities. We’re joined by Heather Hagerty, a sovereign debt analyst at Fidelity Investments’ fixed income division, Lourdes Casanova, a senior lecturer and director of the Emerging Markets Institute at Cornell University’s Cornell S.C. Johnson School of Business and David Souccar, an executive director and portfolio manager at Vontobel.

India liberalized its economy in the early 1990s and is attracting interest from large Canadian pension funds. This episode examines India’s investment landscape from both a private and public equity standpoint, as well as its dominant risks and opportunities. We’re joined by Sanjeev Krishan, leader of deals and private equity at PwC India and Jinesh Gopani, head of equities at Axis AMC, a Schroders joint venture in India. 

Since the fall of communism, Poland has seen major economic success. But how do institutional investors view the country today? This episode explores Poland’s economic history, current economy and considerations for Canadian pension plans looking to potentially invest there. We’re joined by Marcin Piatkowski, senior economist at the World Bank Group, Rachel van Elkan the International Monetary Fund’s Mission Chief to Poland and Switzerland, Rebecca McVittie, the investment director responsible for Fidelity’s emerging market equity disciplines and Julian Mayo senior vice-president and chief investment strategist at Fiera.

Many Canadian pension plans are looking further around the world into markets unknown to find opportunities.

In this podcast you’ll hear from experts from around the globe sharing their insights into new markets, including geopolitical considerations, key themes, challenges and opportunities for institutional investors.

This podcast season will bring you to countries including: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa and South Korea.