Factor investing has many advantages, says Freddy van Mulligen, head of equity and fixed income manager selection at the Dutch institutional money manager. But he still can’t do without active managers.
Three quarters of institutional investors in Europe are planning to beef up their allocations to so-called alternative risk premia, or smart beta, according to research by Cerulli. But what factors are most sought after is determined by investors’ nationality.
The growing popularity of index investing is only just starting to be felt in the world of responsible investing but as the market for plain vanilla trackers becomes increasingly crowded, what does the future hold for ESG passive products?
Freddy van Mulligen, who is in charge of external manager selection at Achmea Investment Management in the Netherlands, is a dedicated factor investor. For the quality bucket of his equity portfolio, he relies on the Schroder ISF QEP Global Quality fund.
Investors in the Netherlands have become enthusiastic users of index trackers over the past years. But institutional investors in the country are leading the way into a new trend – factor investing.
