Schroders

Investment Outlook

Institutional Investor Study
2020

Schroders’ annual Institutional Investor Study analyses the investment perspectives of 650 institutional investors, collectively responsible for $25.9 trillion in assets and from 26 locations across the world. The research was conducted in April 2020, as the scale and global impact of the Covid-19 crisis had taken hold.

Institutional investors’ attitudes to the investment outlook:

Download PDF report

Fears that a global economic slowdown will affect investment performance have almost doubled since last year, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic.

2018

2019

2020

Consequently, previous years’ primary concerns about monetary policy tapering, higher interest rates and regulation have dropped significantly as Covid-19 has consumed the investment outlook.

Higher interest rates

64%

55%

16%

Regulation

34%

24%

15%

Tapering of monetary policy

46%

44%

23%

The research for this year’s Study was conducted in April 2020 as the scale and global impact of the Covid-19 crisis had taken hold. Here are global investors’ thoughts on the impact of Covid-19 at that time.

Pie chart for Covid-19 impact on business

91%

The Covid-19 pandemic will cause a major global recession

81%

The Covid-19 stock plunge presents a good buying opportunity

53%

We will not make any portfolio changes until the outlook is clearer

44%

The liquidity provided by central banks does not help us to manage the downside risks caused by a pandemic

42%

We have diversified into alternatives, real assets and private market assets to reduce the impact of market volatility caused by Covid-19

27%

Fiscal and monetary policy can do little to help mitigate the impact of the outbreak

Institutional investors understand the likely negative impact the Covid-19 crisis has had, and will continue to have, on their portfolios but their return outlook for the next five years remains broadly positive...

expect annual total returns of 5-9%

….yet confidence in achieving these returns has dropped across all regions.

2019

2020

EMEA

North America Image of a continent

Asia-Pacific Image of a continent

Latin America Image of a continent

Investors’ falling confidence is compounded by the pressure to maintain funding levels and solvency ratios. Capital preservation is now considered the most important investment objective globally for the next 12 months.

2019

2020

Capital preservation

Funding liabilities

Capital growth

Generating income

Continuing uncertainty has seen liability and cashflow driven investment strategies grow in importance as institutional investors explore solutions that enable them to meet their liabilities.

Liability and cashflow focused investment strategies are crucial to our strategy

2018

2019

2020

North America

EMEA

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

The need for certainty is also seen in risk management strategies where diversification and tactical asset allocation are cited as the top strategies.

- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
Diversifying across asset classes & geographies
- %
- %
- %
Tactical or dynamic asset allocation
- %
Currency hedging
- %
- %
- %
Increasing use of private assets
- %
- %
- %
Increasing allocations to fixed income
- %
- %
- %

Download the report or continue exploring

Download full report PDF 123MB

Private Assets Sustainability

Schroders commissioned CoreData to conduct the fourth annual Institutional Investor Study to analyse the world’s largest investors’ key areas of focus and concern including the macroeconomic and geopolitical climate, return expectations, asset allocation and attitudes to private assets and sustainable investing. The respondent pool represents a broad spectrum of institutions, including pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations owning approximately $25.9 trillion in assets. The 650 respondents were spilt as follows: 179 in North America, 248 in Europe and South Africa, 173 in Asia-Pacific and 50 in Latin America.

Related Insights

Contact Schroders

Schroders is a world-class asset manager operating from 35 locations across Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Worldwide locations

For any further questions, please use our online contact form.

Contact Form

SICAV funds do not have a guaranteed performance and past returns do not secure future ones.

ΟΙ ΟΣΕΚΑ ΔΕΝ ΕΧΟΥΝ ΕΓΓΥΗΜΕΝΗ ΑΠΟΔΟΣΗ ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΠΡΟΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΕΣ ΑΠΟΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΔΕ ΔΙΑΣΦΑΛΙΖΟΥΝ ΤΙΣ ΜΕΛΛΟΝΤΙΚΕΣ.

This website is exclusively directed at professional investors pursuant to the MiFID legislation. According to this, professional investors are investors with the necessary competence and experience including, for example, fund managers, sales partners and finance intermediaries. If you should not come under this category, we advise against visiting this website.

Schroder Investment Management (Europe) S.A. is the management company ("Management Company") of Schroder International Selection Fund ("Schroder ISF"), Schroder GAIA, Schroder Special Situations Fund ("Schroder SSF") and Schroder GAIA II (each a "Company" and jointly the "Companies").

The Companies are open investment companies with an umbrella structure established as "Société Anonyme" under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and having the status of an investment company with variable capital (Société d'Investissement à Capital Variable, SICAV). Schroder ISF, Schroder GAIA and Schroder SSF have the status of an SICAV pursuant to Part I of the Law on Organisms for Joint Investments passed on 17 December 2010. Schroder AS and Schroder GAIA II are subject to the provisions of Part II of the Law on Organisms for Joint Investments passed on 17 December 2010. The Companies operate sub-funds which have a specific portfolio of assets and liabilities within the company and which own net assets (the "Funds"). The Management Company is subject to the rules of Directive 2010/43/EU on management companies as implemented in Luxembourg Law.

The Management Company merely provides information on its products and services and does not give investment advice on the basis of individual circumstances. If you are not sure whether an investment is suitable for you, it is recommended to seek the advice of an independent financial consultant.

The contents provided through this website are legal documents as well as marketing material for professional investors and advisors. The information and materials on this website may be provided in more than one language.

Before joining this website, kindly read the Legal Information and the Privacy Statement.

Schroders uses cookies to personalise and improve your site experience. You can accept all cookies by selecting 'I agree' and continuing to browse the site or you can "Manage cookies" to apply only the categories of your choosing. Find out more details on how we use your information in our “Cookie Policy”

Select a region

Select a location

Select a site

Retail Investors

Retirement Services

Mutual fund investment

Private Investor

Real Estate

Asset management

Wealth management

Select a region

Select a location

Select a site

Retail Investors

Retirement Services

Mutual fund investment

Private Investor

Real Estate

Asset management

Wealth management

Schroders in Greece

SCHRODERS Global

LATEST CAREERS

Product Operations Specialist

Reconciliation Manager

Schroders Returner Programme - Sustainable Investment Analyst

LATEST NEWS

How climate change could impact investment returns over the next 30 years

Taper Tantrum 2: is there a sequel in the making?

Are any stock markets cheap going into 2021?

Investment Outlook

Institutional Investor Study
2020

Institutional investors understand the likely negative impact the Covid-19 crisis has had, and will continue to have, on their portfolios but their return outlook for the next five years remains broadly positive...

….yet confidence in achieving these returns has dropped across all regions.

Related Insights

Contact Schroders

Select a region

Select a location

Select a site

Retail Investors

Retirement Services

Mutual fund investment

Private Investor

Real Estate

Asset management

Wealth management

Select a region

Select a location

Select a site

Retail Investors

Retirement Services

Mutual fund investment

Private Investor

Real Estate

Asset management

Wealth management

Schroders in Greece

SCHRODERS Global

LATEST CAREERS

LATEST NEWS

Schroders European Equities

How climate change could impact investment returns over the next 30 years

Taper Tantrum 2: is there a sequel in the making?

Liquid Alternatives

InvestIQ

Related Search

Investment Outlook

Institutional Investor Study 2020

Institutional investors understand the likely negative impact the Covid-19 crisis has had, and will continue to have, on their portfolios but their return outlook for the next five years remains broadly positive...

….yet confidence in achieving these returns has dropped across all regions.

Related Insights

Contact Schroders

Please accept the following legal notice:

Institutional Investor Study
2020