US pension fund deluge in India
The hunt for healthier returns is leading to a US pension fund deluge into India.
The New York based TIAA-CREF is one of the world's largest retirement systems, managing assets worth over USD 437 billion. It has invested nearly half a billion dollars in equity and fixed income instruments in India. TIAA-CREF has found good opportunities in the financial and transportation sectors, but says its investments are targeted at companies, not sectors.
“When we have identified a company; what may follow from that is that the company is in a particular sector. It turns out that we will maybe identify more than one company, which leads us inevitably to favor that sector; but not because we are favoring that sector, but because we found some companies in that sector that we like,” said Brett Hammond, Chief Investment Strategist, TIAA-CREF.
Like some other American pension funds, TIAA-CREF plans to invest more in India. It says India's focus on infrastructure, economic reform, higher education, as well as the country's demographics, make it an attractive bet for the long-term.
“We do not particularly care about whether the market is going up or down, this week or this month or really even this year. We are looking for a 3-year to infinite time horizon. We believe that India has a strong capability for future growth,” said Brett Hammond.
Growing interest from institutions like TIAA-CREF is good news for India because these mission-driven investors are in the game for the long run and say periodic volatility in the market is not a deterrent for them.
The hunt for healthier returns is leading to a US pension fund deluge into India.
The New York based TIAA-CREF is one of the world's largest retirement systems, managing assets worth over USD 437 billion. It has invested nearly half a billion dollars in equity and fixed income instruments in India. TIAA-CREF has found good opportunities in the financial and transportation sectors, but says its investments are targeted at companies, not sectors.
“When we have identified a company; what may follow from that is that the company is in a particular sector. It turns out that we will maybe identify more than one company, which leads us inevitably to favor that sector; but not because we are favoring that sector, but because we found some companies in that sector that we like,” said Brett Hammond, Chief Investment Strategist, TIAA-CREF.
Like some other American pension funds, TIAA-CREF plans to invest more in India. It says India's focus on infrastructure, economic reform, higher education, as well as the country's demographics, make it an attractive bet for the long-term.
“We do not particularly care about whether the market is going up or down, this week or this month or really even this year. We are looking for a 3-year to infinite time horizon. We believe that India has a strong capability for future growth,” said Brett Hammond.
Growing interest from institutions like TIAA-CREF is good news for India because these mission-driven investors are in the game for the long run and say periodic volatility in the market is not a deterrent for them.