Los employment pension Plans Spaniards have multiplied by three the investment in Private markets (Private Equity, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt) In the last five years. They are conclusions of the Mercer Investments 2024 Barometerwhich analyzes the investments of large assets of assets worldwide and, specifically in Spain, focuses on these institutional investors, with data since the end of 2019 to the late 2024.
The figures speak for themselves: the percentage of investment in illegid assets in their portfolios has passed from 2.7% to 8.3%. Within investment in private markets, Half is concentrated in Private Equity: Private Equity accounts for 48% of portfolios, while Sustainable Private Equity occupies 2%. Infrastructure are the asset that follows, with 23%. The investment of employment pension plans in real estate is 17% while the weight of private debt in the portfolios of these investors amounts to 10%.
Together (considering illicid assets and alternative liquids), Investment in alternative assets by these investors has gone from 8% to 14.7%almost double in just five years. However, it is a figure slightly less than 17% of the end of 2022 and 16.5% of the end of 2023.
Although real assets maintain their weight at 1.5%, The Hedge Funds has decreased slightly, from 3.1% to 2.7%. In addition to the growth of non -listed assets in the portfolios, it also increases the allocation to raw materials (from 0.1% to 0.6%) in the last five years. Absolute return funds also increase their prominence, moving from 0.7% in the late 2019 to current 1.5%.
-In traditional markets …
According to Mercer data, allocations to fixed income of employment pension funds have dropped from 63.8% to 57.3% in five years, although some assignments have risen, such as fixed euro income and, slightly, fixed income not euro. They have done so at the expense of monetary assets, which have gone from 18.7% at the end of 2019 to current 4%.
On the other hand, the allocations to Variable Income are stable at levels close to 28%, with slight decreases in exposure to euro variable and promotions for Variable Income No Euro (see table).
Source: Mercer
Mercer conducts this study among the “Large Asset Owners” or large investors from more than 16 countries around the world. The big holders, according to their study, are those with assets exceeding 5 billion dollars and includes pension funds, insurers, not for profit (endowments, foundations, charities), Wealth Managers and sovereign funds. In Spain, treated funds correspond to pension funds.
