Asset Owners Increasingly Holding Cash as Liquidity Becomes More Important

Institutional investors are also increasingly investing in the private markets and embracing technology solutions, according to Northern Trust’s inaugural global asset owner peer study.

Northern Trust released a study of asset owners and surveyed them on their asset allocation, investment strategy, liquidity, technology adoption and operational efficiency. 

The report, “Asset Owners in Focus,” is Northern Trust’s inaugural annual peer study on asset owners. Northern Trust surveyed 180 asset owners in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the Asia Pacific regions. 

Survey respondents included pension funds (20%), outsourced CIO’s and multi-managers (20%), family offices (18%), endowments and foundations (14%), insurance general accounts (13%) hospitals (12%) and central banks, sovereign wealth funds and superannuation funds (3%).

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Asset Allocation

The typical asset owner portfolio, according to Northern Trust, has a 42% allocation to public equities, 27% to fixed income, 13% to private markets investments, 11% to cash and 7% to absolute return strategies.

Liquidity is more important than ever for asset owners, especially as more and more are allocated to the private markets. According to the study, 68% of respondents invest in alternatives, and 50% of respondents said that higher cash reserves are a strategy to manage liquidity. 

“We have seen liquidity management really come to the forefront over the last two years, particularly as our clients are trying to get more out of cash as an asset class but also learn to use their balance sheets in creative ways,” says Melanie Pickett, head of asset servicing, Americas at Northern Trust.

According to the study, asset owners who allocate more than 20% of their portfolios to alternative investments consider risk management to be a top challenge. “That shift towards alternatives introduces new complexities, both in terms of investments as well as operational risk,” Pickett says.

Approximately 21% of investors surveyed, that are invested in the private markets, reported having an allocation to digital assets, primarily through exchange traded funds. Asset owners “may receive it as a distribution from a private equity fund, or as a gift in the case of a university or foundation, but ETFs would be the most used vehicle.” Pickett says. 

Technology, Service Providers Becoming More Important

The increasing complexity of asset allocation has led to asset owners adopting more technological solutions. According to the survey, 79% of respondents are increasing their adoption of technology to improve their operations. 

According to the survey, 68% of asset owners said that research is an investment challenge where service providers can help, followed by investment analytics support (52%), data support and reporting solutions (47%), investment due diligence support (46%), and thought leadership (42%). 

“They really are trying to understand each part of the market, the macro factors, what’s going on in every geography and segment and sector,” Pickett says. “And that’s a lot of research for very small investment teams to do.” 

The increasing complexity of investment operations has also led to more asset owners outsourcing their investment operations. Approximately 27% of respondents outsource these operations, most prominently in the Asia Pacific region (40%), followed by North America (31%) and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (13%).

According to Northern Trust, large asset owners and small ones were the most likely to outsource. Allocators with larger holdings typically have more sophisticated portfolios that require additional resources, while those with smaller portfolios may outsource due to having smaller teams. 

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Annual Canadian Employee Benefits Conference Relocates from San Diego to Canada

The event, hosted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, is moved amidst tensions between the US and Canada.



The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, an educational organization for the employee benefits industry,
announced Monday that it will relocate a premier Canadian pension and benefits conference from California to a location in Canada. 

The 58th Annual Canadian Employee benefits Conference was set to be held between November 23 and November 26 in San Diego. The event has often been held in the U.S.; including last year, when it was held in San Antonio, and in 2022 when it was held in New Orleans. In 2023, the conference was held in Montréal. 

“After careful consideration, the foundation has decided to relocate the 58th Annual Canadian Employee Benefits Conference from San Diego, California to a new location in Canada. The Canadian Board and related committees—as well as consultation with members, speakers and sponsors—helped guide this decision,” the IFEBP said in a statement on its web site.  

A spokesperson for the IFEBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

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A new interim final rule from the Department of Homeland Security requires foreign nationals, including Canadians over the age of 14, to register with the government if they are visiting the U.S. for more than 30 days.  

The Canadian government had updated its advisories for travel to the U.S., requiring its citizens to register with the U.S. federal government if they are staying for more than 30 days. 

The conference relocation also comes at a time when relations between the U.S. and Canada have worsened, with the two countries imposing high tariffs on each other, and President Trump repeatedly has called for the U.S. to annex Canada. Additionally, there have been recent news reports that some Canadian pension funds are limiting the addition of U.S.-based investments to their portfolios. 

“For nearly six decades, the Foundation’s mission has been to provide best-in-class education for the Canadian pensions and benefits industry. We look forward to welcoming you this fall to an outstanding 58th Annual Canadian Employee Benefits Conference,” the IFEBP said in a statement. 

The IFEBP provides educational resources to organizations that represent more than 25 million workers in the U.S. and Canada. The group’s U.S. annual conference is scheduled for November 9-12 in Honolulu. 

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