Aug 4, 2016 - Fraser Lundie, Co-Head of Credit at Hermes Investment Management ... scheme's ability to manage collateral
Lloyds Chambers 1 Portsoken Street London E1 8HZ Tel: 020 7702 0888 Fax: 020 7702 9452 www.hermes-investment.com INVESTMENT NOTE
4 AUGUST 2016
Hermes: How to Make Your Dough Rise Nicely While most consultants continue to concentrate on illiquidity premia, some consultants have shifted their focus to the other extreme1. Fraser Lundie, Co-Head of Credit at Hermes Investment Management looks at how UK pension schemes, like many other areas of finance are grappling with structural change rarely seen to such an extent or evolving so quickly. Ageing populations, political changes, and regulatory shifts are combining to drive “cash” in all its forms, to become one of the most important components of a scheme’s portfolio. Structural Change at work As schemes are maturing and de-risking, they are increasingly positioned for this unwinding stage. This in itself brings cash more into play, as does the increasingly negative cash flow profile that such a mature scheme demonstrates. Pension freedoms have added an additional element of uncertainty over cash calls, as some members opt to cash out. In recent years, pension schemes have increasingly employed leverage, commonly via interest rate and inflation hedges, to improve liability matching. However, this leverage has implications for a scheme’s ability to manage collateral calls and liquidity requirements (settlement payments or pension payments). Indeed, bank regulation around the central clearing of swaps means that, in future,, collateral will have to go beyond just Gilts, which are also becoming less freely available via repo - again an unintended consequence of regulation. So cash is going to be more sought after, indeed, required at the very time its accessibility and expensiveness are adding complexity. Liquidity Laddering Unfortunately, the solution cannot be to just hold more cash. Even if one optimises liquidity facilities, required asset return assumptions are already under the spotlight for their rosiness2. Schemes can ill afford another hit to returns at a time when the liability side is also being inflated by historically low discount rates. A solution being put forward by the market is a ‘liquidity ladder” approach. This comprises three rungs – operational cash – literally, money in the bank. Then comes reserve cash – largely Gilt related exposure, offering a suitable buffer to day to day operational cash. Thirdly, strategic cash, which would be an allocation more tilted to short dated credit, ABS, and Absolute return credit strategies. As liquidity is taken out via the bottom rung, it is replenished by the one above. The net effect of this liquidity ladder will reduce gilt exposure whilst increasing outright cash and credit based strategies at either end of a barbell formation. This barbelling immediately boosts overall liquidity due to the higher outright cash holding, increases asset return due to the higher credit allocation, and reduces the scheme’s basis risk given the reduced assumed gilt vs swap liability. So more liquid, higher return, lower risk – what’s the catch? Allocating to a strategic cash strategy that avoids taking illiquidity premium as a driver of performance is key. Just because a fund has daily liquidity does not mean you are matching cash-like requirements with liquid assets. As such, strategies that employ large portions of illiquid credit, ABS, distressed, loans etc should be kept in their natural home of long-term, return-seeking areas of a scheme’s portfolio. Similarly, high fees, often associated with more illiquid or complex allocations can eat away a sizable portion of what is a relatively small gross return objective. Lastly, within absolute return, there has historically been an overreliance on
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Cash is King, Mette Hansen, The Redington Ampersand Institute, July 2016 http://bit.ly/2aslrVH 'Asset allocation in a world of low interest rates, Saker Nusseibeh & Eoin Murray, Hermes Investment Management, working paper 2016
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interest rate duration as a means of downside protection, something which quickly looks like a double bet when traditional correlations break down a la taper tantrum 2013.
Absolute Return Credit well placed to fit on the third ladder The term absolute return conjures up mixed messages and strong opinions about what it means, or should mean. At Hermes, we manage our Absolute Return Credit Strategy with three key objectives in mind. Firstly, we want to ensure Absolute means Absolute, by focussing on the downside protection properties of the strategy to the extent that we can deliver positive absolute returns on a rolling 12 month basis. This means restricting the amount of directional risk, whilst at the same time diversifying the means of downside protection away from interest rate duration exposure. Secondly, we look to operate the strategy with minimal liquidity and volatility risk, ensuring its appropriateness for a cash-like allocation such as the liquidity ladder approach. This involves a focus on companies with large, multilayered capital structures, ensuring both potential to hedge and optimise the alpha generating opportunities intra-capital structure, rather than drifting into directional bets. Lastly, we look to achieve a return target through the full credit cycle of Libor+3% before fees, giving what we believe is an adequate return relative to the moderate risk being undertaken through a full holding period. Conclusion Liquidity requirements do not need to translate into forfeiting returns if structured in a beneficial way. The benefits of a liquidity ladder approach centre around a superior risk adjusted return potential and an improved operational environment. Such a change in approach may well end up being forced upon schemes via regulatory headwinds, particularly those who have moved toward a more heavily levered LDI structure in recent years. Having decided to move towards a dynamic liquidity ladder framework, it is crucial that the strategic allocation delivers on its mandate and does not deviate into illiquidity, complexity or directional premia. In this way, it will be possible to achieve the higher return, better liquidity, lower risk outcome promised by the liquidity ladder approach. Any opinions expressed may change. The value of investments and income from them may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the original amount invested. Any investments overseas may be affected by currency exchange rates. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and targets are not guaranteed. All figures, unless otherwise indicated, are sourced from Hermes.
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For further information, please contact: Hermes Investment Management Jeannie Dumas +44 (0)20 7680 2152
[email protected] Melanie Bradley +44 (0)20 7680 2218
[email protected] Katie Sunderland +44 (0)20 7680 2315
[email protected] Notes to Editors: Hermes Investment Management Hermes is focused on delivering superior, sustainable, risk adjusted returns for our clients – responsibly. Hermes manages assets on behalf of more than 280 clients* across equities, fixed income, alternatives and real
estate, with £24.1 billion* assets under management. In Hermes EOS, we have the industry’s leading engagement resource, advising on more than £169.8 billion* of assets. We believe in Excellence, Responsibility and Innovation Excellence: We aspire to excellence in everything we do. This manifests itself most visibly in our investment performance. We will only offer products to our clients where we believe there is a strong investment thesis and where we can deliver sustainable alpha.
Responsibility: We believe it is our responsibility to lead discussion and debate about the fiduciary responsibilities of fund managers to our clients, their stakeholders and, ultimately, society at large. We have always sought positive engagement with the firms in which we invest.
Innovation: We have the entrepreneurial culture to identify forward-looking products that meet those needs, along with the resources and speed-to-market mentality to develop them rapidly.
Our structure gives clients globally the benefit of access to a broad range of specialist, high conviction investment teams operating within an established and robust operating platform. Hermes' investment solutions include: Private markets - International real estate, pooled funds, segregated mandates, UK commercial real estate, UK commercial real estate debt, UK private rental sector real estate, infrastructure and private equity High active share equities - Asia, global emerging markets, Europe, global, and small and mid cap Specialist fixed income - Absolute return, global high yield, multi strategy, global investment grade Multi asset - Multi asset inflation Responsible investment services - Corporate engagement, intelligent voting and public policy engagement * Source: Hermes as at 31 March 2016 with the exception of one portfolio totalling £89.7m valued as at 31 January 2016. Please note the total AUM figure includes £4.8bn of assets managed or under an advisory agreement by Hermes GPE LLP (“HGPE”), a joint venture between Hermes Fund Managers Limited ("HFM") and GPE Partner Limited. HGPE is an independent entity and not part of the Hermes group. £0.2bn of total group AUM figure represents HFM mandates under advice.
