Mercer report uncovers asset allocation and investment trends on nearly US$5 trillion1 in assets under management (AUM) from government, corporate, and mandatory pension schemes across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has increased its foreign equity allocation, and increased efforts to diversify portfolios, including higher exposure to alternatives.

Both EPF and government pension fund (KWAP) combined asset allocation maintains a strong bias for domestic equities and Malaysian government fixed income securities.

Globally, exposure to equities has been increasing since 2017 – equity allocations rose approximately 8%, from 32% to 40%, at the expense of fixed income.

Market liberalization is enabling more diversified portfolios through increased exposure to foreign assets at the expense of domestic assets.

Mercer, a global consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and careers, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) launches its inaugural issue of Growth Markets Asset Allocation Trends: Evolving Landscape, a report that provides insights on the asset allocation and investment trends impacting pension fund assets of almost US$5 trillion in AUM across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Mercer’s report noted significant variation in broad asset allocation among countries, driven by regulatory factors as well as market conditions, such as high levels of local interest rates supporting investment in domestic fixed income and cash.

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