A gentle wind of change is rustling the leaves in the cautious world of UK pension fund investment as it rises to the challenge of channelling pension fund assets into domestic infrastructure and high-growth sectors. The government has pointed with increasing urgency to countries such as Canada and Australia that have demonstrated stronger models of institutional collaboration, particularly in transport, energy, and technology projects.

European regulators have urged financial institutions to increase vigilance and maintain adequate provisions in today’s tense and unpredictable geopolitical environment and growing fragmentation of the global economy.

The barrage of recent announcements aimed at directing more money from pension funds into private assets, especially infrastructure and major property development projects, is starting to send ripples of concern across the sector, especially among asset managers and advisers.

Insurers are looking to hold their nerve when it comes to asset allocation despite growing concerns about the threat of economic turbulence and geopolitical instability.

The rise of artificial intelligence continues to reshape the investment landscape, Inevitably, caution prevails among insurance company CIOs but AI’s growing power and sophistication cannot be ignored.

Is there any reliable concept of normality for institutional investors as another turbulent year draws to a close? Perhaps the best we can say is that volatility has become the new normal, writes Contributing Editor David Worsfold.