In this paper Joop Huij from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and Jeroen Derwall from Tilburg University, School of Economics show the observed relation between portfolio concentration and performance is mostly driven by the breadth of the underlying fund strategies, not just by fund managers’ willingness to take big bets.
In the final days of the hedge fund boom, the A$30 billion ($27.8 billion) AustralianSuper stepped up its investigation of the market returns embedded within the alternative strategies. Now, two years and a devastating financial crisis later, the big defined contribution fund has cut back its hedge fund program and begun analysing the true power of beta in its portfolio. SIMON MUMME reports.
Sebastien Page, senior managing director of the portfolio and risk management group at State Street Associates is excited about his upcoming paper “In Defense of Optimization: The Fallacy of 1/N”, which responds to the increasingly popular notion that equal weighted portfolios outperform. He spoke with Amanda White about the “1/N paper”, and how he advises institutional investors to incorporate best practice macro issues in their decision making.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the $456.4 billion (NOK 2,549 billion) Government Pension Fund – Global, returned 13.5 per cent for the quarter due to improved liquidity in fixed income instrument and climbing equity markets, as the fund continued diversification within emerging markets.
The $15.2 billion ($11 billion) New Zealand Superannuation Fund has ploughed $80 million into the Asia-Pacific region’s first life settlements swap, in a deal organised by Credit Suisse’s Sydney-based fixed interest investment banking team.
Jim McKee, director of hedge fund research at Callan Associates, believes the underperformance of hedge funds due to the one-off loss caused by the short selling ban should not be underestimated. He spoke with Amanda White about what investors should expect from hedge funds, why it’s still a manager selection game, and whether LIBOR is an appropriate benchmark.