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Is in-house management the future for large asset owners?

The allure of potentially higher net returns from portfolios precisely tailored to values, beliefs and risk appetite is hard for any asset owner to ignore, yet needs to be balanced against the many challenges associated with managing assets in-house. To this end, it is worth outlining the key benefits that in-house asset management can offer. […]
Carole JuddJune 13, 2014
Opinion

Challenges facing the world’s biggest funds

In the coming weeks, Towers Watson will be writing a series of articles, exclusive to conexust1f.flywheelstaging.com, that look at key challenges facing large asset owners. These will focus on specific practicalities that many global funds are encountering such as the role of internal teams. To put these challenges in context, this first article by global […]
 May 23, 2014
Uncategorised posts

Organisational change: asset owners 2.0

A key ingredient for success in any organisation is strong leadership. It is common in the corporate world for the chief executive to change every five to 10 years as the organisation evolves. Are the same principles true for large institutional investors?     Roger Urwin, global head of investment content at Towers Watson, who […]
Amanda WhiteJanuary 31, 2014
Uncategorised posts

Johnson urges pension simplicity

There is a David-and-Goliath feeling to the battle Michael Johnson, a research fellow at the London-based think tank the Centre for Policy Studies, is waging against the pension industry. His research, which lays out the case for radically simplifying all aspects of the United Kingdom’s pension sector, has earned him a reputation as a maverick. […]
Sarah RundellJuly 26, 2013
Uncategorised posts

Building consensus for investment beliefs at CalPERS

An investment-beliefs workshop for the CalPERS board, held in April, revealed five areas, including active management, where the views of the board and staff lacked consensus. The contentious, or unsettled, topics for discussion were active management, private asset classes, sustainability (environmental, social and governance), investment performance targets and stakeholder considerations. At the board workshop, Janine […]
Amanda WhiteMay 10, 2013
Sustainability

Sustainability to create
new drivers of return

Sustainability is constructing a portfolio today on the earnings of the future, according to global head of investment content for Towers Watson, Roger Urwin. Not all performance is born equal, he says, and sustainability is performance with purpose. A cap-weighted portfolio is made up of an earnings stream based on today’s conditions, Urwin explains, with […]
Amanda WhiteMarch 20, 2013
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