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16 June 2016

USS wins at the 2016 Chief Investment Officer Innovation Awards

Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS) is pleased to announce that it has won the ‘Portfolio Construction’ award of the year at the 2016 Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Magazine Innovation Awards.

Now in their fourth year, the CIO annual awards recognise innovative thinking in risk management, portfolio construction, asset allocation and securities selection. The awards seek to acknowledge the best new ideas implemented by long-term investors in the face of challenging market conditions and increased volatility.

The CIO European Innovation Awards are split into two general categories: Asset management/ servicing and asset owners, USS is eligible for the second category. The finalists and winners of each award are decided by the CIO editorial team with input taken into consideration from the awards’ Advisory Board, as well as surveys and data where applicable.

Roger Gray, USS’s Chief Investment Officer, collected the award on behalf of USS at the dinner ceremony held at The Rosewood in London on 2 June 2016.

Roger said:

“It is very gratifying that USS’s innovative approach to portfolio construction, built on broad-ranging internal capabilities, has been acknowledged as industry-leading by a prominent sector publication. Pension funds are dealing with challenging long-term economic, market and demographic trends and the ability to generate superior risk-adjusted long-term returns is vital for meeting the requirements of our sponsors and the retirement savings needs of our members.”

Additionally, one of USS’s supplier partners for financial risk and return management, Ortec Finance, was nominated for the best ‘Investment Consulting’ category, for its work with USS on its Investment Performance Service (IPS). IPS brings together technology and finance to support USS in quantifying and understanding its key investment performance drivers.

In April this year, CIO Magazine also recognised Andrew McCarthy, a key member of our global equities team, in its 2016 ‘Forty Under Forty’ list. The list acknowledges the efforts and achievements of individuals who work across the industry.