Off the record, on the road: Our CSO’s latest private markets insights
Key takeaway
The latest ‘Off the Record, on the Road’ with Luba Nikulina comes to you from Toronto, Canada.
Luba Nikulina, IFM Investors’ Chief Strategy Officer, highlights the importance of partnering with governments to attract capital and drive infrastructure development, while emphasizing sustainable aviation fuel as a key pathway to decarbonize air travel.
I see many parallels (between Canada and) our home market in Australia with both being early adopters of infrastructure and (both) benefitting from that.
Canada has long been a global leader in recognizing infrastructure as a core institutional asset class, with investor interest continuing to deepen. Reflecting the importance of client proximity, IFM has opened its first Canadian office in downtown Toronto, in a building that is connected to IFM portfolio company Enwave’s district energy system—using Lake Ontario water for renewable heating and cooling—and the city’s underground PATH network.
The opening also underscores IFM’s broader focus on infrastructure as a strategic asset class. A conversation between Luba Nikulina, IFM Investors’ Chief Strategy Officer, and Ken Luce, Executive Director, Clients and Strategy, highlights how governments are increasingly partnering with private firms to streamline planning, attract capital, and accelerate delivery of critical projects.
The discussion then turns to sustainable aviation fuel, underscoring its growing importance in countries like Canada and Australia, where vast distances make air travel essential. Sustainable and low-carbon fuels are increasingly seen as a critical pathway to decarbonize aviation while maintaining the connectivity that underpins economic and social activity across these geographies.
Meet the authors
Luba Nikulina
Luba is IFM Investors' Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for leading the development of IFM’s global strategy with a focus on private markets solutions that meet the needs of Australian and global pension funds and their members. Luba joined IFM Investors from WTW, (previously known as Willis Towers Watson), where she was Global Head of Research, advising some of the world’s largest asset owners on strategy, governance and investments, managing a team of over 100 analysts. During her time at WTW, she worked in London and New York and was responsible for establishing WTW’s private markets capabilities. Luba has over 25 years of investment industry experience and has served on the UK Government’s Social Impact Investing Taskforce, City of London’s Socioeconomic Diversity Taskforce, and co-chaired the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group.
Ken Luce
Ken leads IFM's Toronto-based Canadian client service and business development team, responsible for institutional coverage across pensions, financial institutions, endowments and foundations. Ken joined IFM in 2020, prior to which he spent 17 years at Barclays Global Investors and BlackRock working with Canadian Institutional investors across public and private markets. Ken is a member of the Investment Committee for the Salvation Army in Canada.
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