加拿大养老基金（之二）

Cuddly Canucks

可爱的加拿大人

The giants face problems of their own. One, paradoxically, is the growth of assets: CPP, for example, expects to manage C$275 billion by 2020 and C$1 trillion by 2050. Getting bigger makes it harder for each investment to make a difference to overall returns. “How we can scale our direct investing so it continues to be meaningful in a fund that’s doubled its size is a challenge,” says David Denison, CPP’s boss.

巨头也面临自己的一些问题。其中之一，看起来比较矛盾，是资产增长：例如，CPP预计到2020年管理2750亿加元和到2050年升至1万亿加元。规模越大，使每项投资都对整体效益具有重大影响的难度也越大。 “我们该如何扩展我们的直接投资，使它对规模扩大一倍的基金仍然意义重大，这是一个挑战，CPP的老板大卫丹尼森说。

Another challenge is handling expansion into more volatile emerging markets. To find good deals, funds need people on the ground. But as they become global, they may spread themselves too thinly. The Canadian model assumes that diversification is not as important as deep knowledge: the funds are likely to be better at doing deals in Montreal than Moscow. Some funds have opened foreign offices, but Mr Fyfe of PSP Investments is wary: “These people are going to be sitting there telling you to do a deal, so they’re not irrelevant.”

另一个挑战是处理更不稳定的新兴市场的扩张。为了寻求好的交易，基金需要投资者实地考察。但是，当他们全球化后，他们的人员散播可能过于稀少。加拿大模式认为多样化不比深度知识重要，基金的投资交易，在蒙特利尔比在莫斯科做得更好。一些基金已开设国外办事处，但PSP投资的伊夫先生警惕：“这些人将要坐在那里，告诉你去做交易，所以他们不是无关紧要的。”

Even so, Canadian pensions are primed to do well in these dismal times. Some are planning to do more in credit, since banks are lending less. Cash-strapped governments are also lining up a huge number of infrastructure-asset sales. Politicians find the Canadians cuddlier partners than many others. According to Michael Sabia, the boss of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, another pension-fund group: “If they’re faced with the consortium of ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’ from New York versus a consortium of large public institutions who are long-term investors… I think I know who they’re going to pick.”

即便如此，加拿大养老金已经准备在这令人沮丧的时候依旧做好投资交易。一些计划扩大信贷，因为银行贷款减少。现金短缺的ZF也在准备将数量庞大的基础设施资产进行排队销售。政客发现作为合作方加拿大人比其他人更可爱。另一养老基金财团Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec的老板迈克尔·萨比亚说：“如果他们面对着纽约的“虚荣的篝火”财团和长期从事投资的大型公共机构财团，......我想我知道他们会选谁。

from the print edition | Finance and economics