Indirect crypto exposure among Dutch companies, institutions and households has grown rapidly, with Dutch pension funds holding the largest shares. But with wariness around the asset persisting, those who have committed remain elusive.

Texas has established a new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, administered through the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, making it the first US state to invest in bitcoin. We at AOX take a look at what the allocation actually looks like.

As market concentration deepens and infrastructure spending accelerates, institutional investors question whether today’s AI-driven investment returns reflect durable growth or the later stages of a crowded trade.

Institutional investment is becoming increasingly polarised, with pension funds now dominating in North America while sovereign wealth funds are becoming more prominent in Europe and the Middle East. Armed with considerable resources, these investors are diving into private markets globally, including financing the energy transition.

Interest in asset allocation frameworks such as the total portfolio approach is gathering pace, with proponents including Calpers and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. While this enthusiasm could open the door to a larger role for active management, such strategies require governance structures and investment expertise currently only available to the largest investors

European asset owners are grappling with the “concentration risk” in portfolios towards US technology and AI businesses in the S&P 500

A combination of Donald Trump’s pestering and nervousness about America’s reliability as an ally - including concern Greenland might follow the fate of Venezuela - has prompted European nations to increase the amount they spend on defence. Does that mean asset owners view defence as an attractive investment opportunity? And could it even be defined as an ESG asset?

As the UK government pushes for pension scheme consolidation, dreaming of economies of scale and a dearth of domestic private investment, we look at the Netherlands and Australia for clues as to what that might look like

Nvidia, which makes the chips which power AI and which is at the forefront of the boom, has seen its share price go up 290 per cent over the past two years, leaving most market indices in the dust. So does that mean a bubble is forming?

Richard Law-Deeks thinks that by 2030 there may be as few as four local government pension scheme pools in England and Wales

Mercer studied 52 countries and found 77 per cent of them impose some sort of investment restriction

As one of the most newsworthy assets during the past few years, cryptocurrency has gained attention for providing stellar returns but also for suffering steep losses. While crypto asset managers share a positive outlook for digital assets, institutional investors and advisors are less sanguine and more wary.

As investor attention shifts from carbon emissions to biodiversity, asset owners are advised to consider the investment opportunities in natural capital. Companies that support resource efficiency, zero waste and the circular economy are hailed as attractive investments that both protect the earth’s natural resources and deliver strong returns.