From social wash to social value

With the grocery market undergoing significant changes, the successful supermarkets of the future are likely to be smaller and focussed on providing a rich shopping experience, writes Jonathan Bayfield.

In this article Mark Versey, CIO Real Assets, explains why he combined the real estate and alternative income divisions at Aviva Investors to create a real assets business.

Investors will favour real asset classes offering growth potential in an environment of increasing bond yields, argues real asset analyst Vivienne Bolla.

Pension schemes will confront a different set of challenges as they mature, not least around cashflows. How these problems are managed now will affect the financial health of the schemes far into the future.

Attendees at Aviva Investors’ annual institutional investor conference gave their take on some of the key themes impacting pensions schemes, from ESG to asset allocation shifts.

More retailers are turning to corporate voluntary arrangements to restructure their estates - but a dynamic landscape is no surprise for seasoned real estate investors.

As transfers out of UK Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes reach record levels, John Dewey assesses the implications for pension schemes with alternative income allocations.

Real estate investors should focus on global demographic trends to ensure their portfolios stand the test of time.

In our latest alternative income update, we look at opportunities in structured finance as stringent capital requirements continue to rein in banks’ activities in certain areas, including long-term lending and derivatives.

The UK infrastructure industry needs to face up to its failings and act in the best interests of all stakeholders. Developing a code of conduct would be a good place to start, argue Darryl Murphy and Mirza Baig.

With UK retail parks facing an increasingly perilous future, turning the sites into vibrant residential-led developments offers land owners an opportunity to bolster investment returns.

The European economy continues to grow above trend rates, but investors should be wary of rising bond yields and rapid development in some markets, says Vivienne Bolla.