About the Course

Pension funds invest over long horizons and must generate adequate returns without exposing members’ retirement savings to unacceptable levels of risk. Effective investment management therefore requires a disciplined process for setting investment objectives, selecting asset classes, appointing investment managers, monitoring portfolios and evaluating whether investment outcomes remain aligned with the scheme’s liabilities, liquidity needs and risk appetite.

This course gives trustees, investment committees and pension professionals a practical framework for overseeing pension assets. It covers investment policy development, portfolio construction, traditional and alternative asset classes, investment risk, manager due diligence, performance measurement and responsible investment. The emphasis is on strengthening the participant’s ability to ask the right questions, interpret investment information and make well-governed decisions rather than simply relying on external advisers or asset managers.

Particular attention is given to the oversight responsibilities of trustees and investment committees, including the use of investment mandates, benchmarks, performance reports and risk information. Participants will strengthen their ability to challenge investment recommendations, ask the right questions of fund managers and custodians, and make evidence-based decisions that support long-term funding objectives and member interests.

Target Participants

Pension fund trustees, investment committee members, fund managers, investment officers, finance professionals, asset managers, regulators, pension administrators, internal auditors and professionals responsible for the oversight of pension assets.

Course Duration

• Classroom – 10 Days
• Online – 14 Days

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Translate pension objectives into clear investment objectives.
• Interpret and evaluate an investment policy statement.
• Assess the characteristics of major pension asset classes.
• Apply diversification and portfolio construction principles.
• Evaluate investment managers and service providers.
• Interpret pension investment risk measures.
• Assess portfolio performance against appropriate benchmarks.
• Develop measures to strengthen investment governance and responsible investment practices.

Course Content

Pension Investment Fundamentals

• Role of investments in benefit security
• Return objectives and risk tolerance
• Investment horizon and liquidity needs
• Governance roles in investment decision-making
• Investment beliefs and governance principles

Pension Investment Policy

• Purpose of the investment policy statement
• Strategic objectives and portfolio constraints
• Permitted investments and concentration limits
• Review, approval and monitoring arrangements
• Investment policy review triggers and approval controls

Fixed Income Investments

• Government and corporate debt instruments
• Yield, duration and credit quality
• Interest-rate sensitivity
• Role of bonds in pension portfolios
• Liability-matching applications of fixed income assets

Equity Investments

• Public equity characteristics
• Equity valuation concepts
• Market and sector exposure
• Risk-return considerations for long-term investors
• Equity mandate benchmarking and portfolio monitoring

Alternative Investments

• Private equity and private credit
• Real estate and infrastructure
• Commodities and other alternatives
• Illiquidity, valuation and governance considerations
• Valuation governance for illiquid and complex assets

Portfolio Construction

• Diversification principles
• Correlation and portfolio risk
• Strategic portfolio weights
• Rebalancing discipline
• Portfolio optimization constraints and implementation trade-offs

Pension Investment Risk

• Market and volatility risk
• Credit and counterparty risk
• Liquidity and concentration risk
• Risk limits and monitoring
• Risk limits, breaches and escalation procedures

Investment Manager Oversight

• Manager selection criteria
• Operational due diligence
• Mandates and service-level expectations
• Manager monitoring and replacement decisions
• Fee analysis, mandate compliance and performance escalation

Investment Performance

• Benchmarks and peer comparisons
• Time-weighted and money-weighted returns
• Performance attribution
• Risk-adjusted performance interpretation
• Performance reporting governance and decision use

Responsible Investment

• ESG integration in pension portfolios
• Stewardship and ownership responsibilities
• Climate-related investment considerations
• Responsible investment reporting
• Stewardship evidence, disclosure quality and accountability

Strategic Asset Allocation

• Policy portfolio construction
• Capital market assumptions
• Allocation ranges and constraints
• Scenario testing of policy allocations
• Strategic allocation review triggers

Asset-Liability Integration

• Liability profile interpretation
• Funding status implications for investment strategy
• Duration and inflation sensitivity
• Liability-aware portfolio choices
• Asset-liability scenario analysis

Liquidity Management

• Benefit cash-flow forecasting
• Liquidity buckets and reserve levels
• Illiquid asset exposure limits
• Liquidity stress testing
• Contingency liquidity actions

Investment Operations

• Trade lifecycle and settlement controls
• Custody arrangements and asset safekeeping
• Corporate actions processing
• Cash and position reconciliations
• Operational controls over investment data

Investment Governance Reporting

• Investment committee reporting packs
• Decision rights and delegated authorities
• Exception reporting and escalation
• Fee transparency and cost reporting
• Investment governance review cycle

Practical Outputs

• Investment policy review checklist
• Strategic asset allocation worksheet
• Investment manager due-diligence scorecard
• Portfolio risk monitoring dashboard
• Investment performance review pack
• Investment committee decision memo template

Training Approach

Participants work with sample investment policy statements, manager reports, portfolio dashboards and performance data. Exercises focus on interpreting asset allocation, evaluating manager performance, identifying portfolio risks and improving investment committee oversight. Extended exercises require participants to interpret portfolio information, challenge manager reports and prepare recommendations for an investment committee.

Organizational Benefits

• Stronger investment policy governance and mandate clarity
• More disciplined asset-allocation and portfolio-risk decisions
• Improved due diligence and oversight of external investment managers
• Better interpretation of investment performance and risk reports
• Stronger liquidity and asset-liability awareness in investment decisions
• More transparent investment committee reporting and accountability

Certification

Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a Certificate of Course Completion from Devimpact Institute, recognizing the knowledge, practical skills and competencies developed through the programme.

Customization Options

This course can be customized and delivered as an in-house programme to address the specific policies, systems, sector context and capacity-development priorities of an organization. The course duration, modules, case studies and practical exercises may be adjusted following a training needs assessment.