The £2.6 billion ($2.9 billion) Church of England Pensions Board will cut half of its public equity holdings as it makes big changes to its portfolio, IPE.com reports.
In favor of a 20% allocation to infrastructure, the church pension board said in its annual report it will slash its stock weight to 35% from 70% of its return-seeking portfolio.
The move will be implemented over the next 10 years to shield the fund from volatility as well as boost diversification within its investments, the report said.
The church also plans to add exposure to types of infrastructure, debt, and private equity that are dependent on contractual income.
In addition, the board will continue to raise its stake in US private debt through the rest of 2018, said IPE. The pension board will also begin a global private equity program.
The church pensions board is the sole trustee for four pension plans: the Church of England Funded Pension Scheme, the Clergy (Widows and Dependents) Pension Fund, the Church Workers Pension Fund, and the Church Administrators Pension Fund.
Although the report is for 2017, the board did not post its results until last month. It returned 9.4% for the year, largely thanks to its emerging markets portfolio, which gained 28%.
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