Bigger appetites for absolute return strategies, new attitudes to risk and governance, and the onset of major regulation – these were the forces for change identified in Watson Wyatt’s 2008 study, Defining Moments. But the social fallout from the financial crisis has sparked another phenomenon that could heavily impact institutional investors, according to Tim Hodgson senior investment consultant and founding member of the Thinking Ahead Group, who co-authored the paper. He spoke with Simon Mumme.
LACERS alters allocations to hedge against inflation
The $9.3 billion Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System will tilt its asset allocation to hedge against inflation and will discuss altering its investment policy to explicitly address inflation at each annual asset allocation review.
Equity paradigms challenged
A number of new research articles have deunked two universally held beliefs in the investment industry, that shares are a good long-term bet and that economic growth is good for equities. Dr Arjuna Sittampalam, Research Associate with the EDHEC-Risk Institute and editor, Investment Management Review, examines the research.
Massachusetts special commission recommends system changes
A recently completed report by a special commission into the appropriateness of the Massachusetts retirement system contemplated the defined benefit versus defined contribution benefit design, concluding that the existing defined benefit structure was optimal, in part because it put the portfolio management in the hands of professionals. The report entitled, The Special Commission to Study … Read more
Dump cap-weighted indexing for ‘efficient beta’
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The status quo of ‘passive’ equity investment, ranking companies by market capitalisation, is delivering lower returns for higher volatility than a beta strategy which blends a cap-weighted approach with two of its competitors – minimum variance and fundamental indexing. Michael Bailey spoke to Lazard Asset Management’s Asia Pacific chief, Rob Prugue, about a paper co-written with Research Affiliates which claims to prove it is so.
Dump cap-weighted indexing for ‘efficient beta’
The status quo of ‘passive’ equity investment, ranking companies by market capitalisation, is delivering lower returns for higher volatility than a beta strategy which blends a cap-weighted approach with two of its competitors – minimum variance and fundamental indexing. Michael Bailey spoke to Lazard Asset Management’s Asia Pacific chief, Rob Prugue, about a paper co-written with Research Affiliates which claims to prove it is so.
