Weekend Giant Reading: February 19 – 21, 2016

Welcome to the weekend everybody. Here are the top stories from the past week for your reading enjoyment:

- Collaboration: Four massive Giants — KIA, CPPIB, CDPQ and SGRF — are launching a new JV focused on troubled power assets in India.

- In-Souring: Dutch Giant PGGM is reportedly building out its in-house private equity team. Why, you ask? Well, because direct investing in PE adds, according to CEM benchmarking, 3.2% per year to PE performance. That’s why.

- Collaboration & In-Sourcing:UK local pensions will merge with a view towards boosting internal management to 80–90% of AUM. This is smart, and here’s why.

- Epiphanies: A union plan is finally asking the right question about its manager relationships, and here it is: “Wait, are we paying for these guys’ private jets?” Yes. Yes you are.

- Paraphrasing Pew: Pew says — er, suggests — that investment fees are completely crazy and pensions mostly stink at tracking them. Also, pensions need to stop presenting net of fee performance and suggest silly things like gross returns (including carried interest) don’t matter because of some lame argument about profit sharing. Just stop it. Anyway, that’s according to Pew. Sort of.

- The Departed: Long time friend of the show Magnus Eriksson is leaving AP4. Bummer. Who will I talk to at conferences about Volvo and Saab?

- A New Hope: 92% of pension funds are making changes to their governance in 2016.

- Re-emerging Markets: Norway’s sovereign fund got a thumbs up to go ahead and invest in Iranian bonds.

- Selfie I: Here’s my latest column: The Co-Investment Conundrum: Trust Thy Partner.

- Selfie II: Here’s an interview I did with with Leanna Orr in which we riff on bananas investment ideas.

Have a great weekend!