This OECD working paper assesses the relative performance of different investment strategies, and whether the specific glide-path of life-cycle investment strategies and dynamic features in the design of default investment strategies significantly affect retirement income outcomes.
SWFs surprise as they debut in ETFs
The institutional usage of exchange-traded funds is booming around the world, putting paid to any lingering doubt that the vehicles are meant for retail investors. Michael Bailey reports.
BP oil sinks UK domestic portfolios…
UK home-biased equity portfolios have lost almost 3 per cent due to the BP oil crisis, in contrast to diversified global equity portfolios which have lost only 0.33 per cent, according to a MSCI research paper. Since the BP oil crisis began on April 20, the company’s share price has halved, and the impact on … Read more
…as Gulf funds buoyant on BP
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from the Gulf swooped in to buy stakes in troubled financial institutions during the financial crisis – now there is speculation they are sizing up stakes in BP as the oil giant seeks to raise capital following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Investors from the Middle East were running a ruler over … Read more
Chinese whisper over CIC turf wars
The $300 billion China Investment Corporation (CIC) aims to sidestep official barriers to investing in the US by offloading its stakes in home-country banks. The proposal would see the sovereign wealth fund (SWF) relinquish responsibility for the Chinese government’s majority stakes in the country’s largest banks, such as Bank of China, the Financial Times reported. … Read more
Companies face up to investors on say-on-pay
Proxy advisory firms have substantial influence on executive pay decision-making processes in US companies, however they have had little impact on the design of executive compensation programs, according to about half the respondents in a Towers Watson survey. The Towers Watson”Executive Say-on-Pay Flash Survey”, conducted in June surveyed 251 US public and private corporations representing … Read more
