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Derivatives: sour grapes or Dodd-Frank victims?

February 16, 2011

While claims the Dodd-Frank Act will make the derivatives market prohibitively expensive could be seen as a case of sour grapes from a market unregulated until now, a committee reviewing the Act has asserted that end-users of derivatives, including pension funds, will bear the brunt of the new laws. Frank

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Investors desert Egypt’s unsettled fare rows

February 9, 2011

Civil unrest in Egypt, in particular, and other Middle-eastern and some African countries has been blamed for causing further investor outflows from emerging markets in recent weeks. Figures from Boston-based fund data research firm EPFR Global show that the trend for investors withdrawing from global and regional emerging markets funds,

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CalPERS renovates real estate portfolio

February 9, 2011

CalPERS will separate its real estate assets into legacy and new portfolios, as part of a new strategic plan for the asset class that more accurately reflects its evolved role as a result of the fund’s recent asset liability study. The new strategic plan, the first since 2007, highlights that

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Funds brave-up for risk: Towers Watson

February 9, 2011

It’s not really news but it’s comforting to have your observations confirmed when the annual Global Pension Asset Study is published. The Towers Watson report for 2010 shows a hiatus in the swing away from equities, stronger growth in Asia-Pacific than elsewhere, and a greater focus on risk by the

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Yale warns on ‘nanny’ reforms

February 9, 2011

Subjecting money market funds to a bank-like regulatory structure would disrupt the short-term money market and increase systematic risk according to this Yale Law School paper. While risk-limiting reforms are important to ensure the continued safety and security of MMFs, this paper argues major revisions such as the floating NAV

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Bolivia to nationalise pensions

February 9, 2011

The Bolivian Government will nationalise the privately run pension system, with new pension reform law due to be implemented half way through this year. It follows reform from its southern neighbour, Argentina, which nationalised its $24 billion pension fund industry two years ago.On December 10, President Evo Morales signed a

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Asian Funds Passport to Growth

February 3, 2011

Across the Asia-Pacific region, interest is growing in the cross-border recognition of registered funds, which would give investors access to a broader range of locally manufactured and regionally distributed products. Establishing a mutually recognized regional funds vehicle would help streamline cross-border recognition, while also encouraging the development of the funds

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Putting your footprint where your mouth is: CalSTRS reports on carbon emissions

January 25, 2011

In the latest move to demonstrate the same commitment to climate change it expects from its portfolio companies, CalSTRS has signed The Climate Registry, a leading voluntary greenhouse gas registry in North America. The $147 billion fund will report on its carbon footprint, which was dramatically reduced when it moved

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Chinese growth prompts further inflation fears

January 25, 2011

The Chinese economy refuses to slow down. The latest GDP growth figures have once again surprised on the upside, prompting new fears about inflation. The official figures last week showed annual GDP growth of 10.3 per cent compared with 9.2 per cent in 2009, and following a higher-than-expected 9.8 per cent

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PIMCO’s El-Erian on surviving the ‘new normal’

January 19, 2011

As investors faced a “multi-speed world” in which uncertainty about the US and European economies contrasted with emerging markets’ rapid growth, they should not be misled by short-term signals from the markets, said Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-CIO at PIMCO. The different growth rates among developed and emerging economies –

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The Devil Wears UBS … revised edition

January 19, 2011

Style is not really the forté of the Swiss so it may come as no surprise that the London arm of Swiss investment bank UBS got itself into a pickle after it published a 44-page dress code for employees late last year. The code, which included compulsory red ties for

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The Devil Wears UBS … revised edition

January 19, 2011

Style is not really the forté of the Swiss so it may come as no surprise that the London arm of Swiss investment bank UBS got itself into a pickle after it published a 44-page dress code for employees late last year. The code, which included compulsory red ties for

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Corporate governance program victim of new allocation model at CalPERS

January 12, 2011

CalPERS’ outperforming internal corporate governance investments program will be challenged by the fund’s new capital allocation model, according to a review of the program by consultant Wilshire. As part of its regular review, Wilshire said the three main issues facing the program are the new capital allocation model, the alignment

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Investor behaviour erodes performance

January 12, 2011

Performance is eroded by institutional investors’ decisions around hiring and firing managers according to the preliminary results of a behavioural study by Boston University that links qualitative factors such as committee characteristics with earlier empirical research on performance. In research published in the Financial Analysts Journal in 2009, Absence of

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Hong Kong still has it: CIC recognises Hong Kong’s international finance status with subsidiary

January 5, 2011

The China Investment Corporation has recognised Hong Kong’s international position by establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary, Hong Kong-CIC International (Hong Kong) Co., Limited. The sovereign wealth fund said it would fully utilise Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre as well as its world-class investment and financial services to develop

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Credit overweight pushes Texas to top spot, performance pay reinstated

January 5, 2011

The 108 investment staff of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) have had their performance incentive awards reinstated, and will receive $9.7 million between them, after a year which saw the fund outperform its benchmark by 240 basis points making it the best performing public pension fund in the

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New decision making parameters for Alaska’s investments

January 5, 2011

The $38.5 billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) has made further enhancements to its unique approach to investment decision making, clarifying procedures relating to risk guidelines in its investment policy. The investment policy outlines via colour codes, different operating zones which allow for various decisions to be made with, or

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Behind CalPERS’ alternative asset allocation decision

December 22, 2010

A desire to hedge the portfolio against extreme market risks and rising inflation, has resulted in the $220 billion CalPERS departing from its traditional asset allocation after a year-long review, and introducing the allocation of assets according to five broad groups. The alternative asset classification introduces the concept of two

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Fear the Boom and Bust

December 22, 2010

With a festive tongue firmly in cheek, this video may provide a welcome smile at the end of a challenging year for many fiduciary investors. The global financial crisis triggered a revival in the popularity of interventionist Keynesian economics – but the free marketeers of Friedrich Hayek’s Austrian School won’t

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NEST broods on SRI choice

December 21, 2010

The UK’s National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) will offer members a socially responsible investment fund, one of the first investment decisions the trustee board has made as it finalises its investment strategy. The fund will advertise in the Official Journal of the European Union for global equity SRI fund managers

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Now this is a merger: NZ mulls mega-fund

December 21, 2010

The New Zealand government could create a single NZ$40 billion ($30 billion) fund under a proposal mooted in its inaugural ‘Investment Statement’ published this month. If adopted, the proposal – classified as one of the “high level choices in the financial portfolio” – would impose a central investment structure across

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In defence of hedge funds of funds

December 14, 2010

Funds of funds, particularly hedge funds of funds, have suffered outflows in recent years as pension funds reassessed their cost alongside risk and return characteristics. The conventional wisdom is that all types of FoFs are at death’s door. But according to a research report by Steven Hall and Jack Gray

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The case for leveraged loans

December 14, 2010

Leveraged loans are the senior-most debt obligations of non-investment grade corporate borrowers and are an attractive source for uncorrelated returns, argue David Frey and Julian Qin, of Highbridge Principal Strategies. In this paper, they argue that because such loans blend the current income and contractual principal payment of traditional fixed-income

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As themes take hold: the trick is not to pay too much

December 14, 2010

Thematic investment strategies are easy enough to understand but not so easy to implement. The curse of the thematic manager is the curse of overpaying. The strong performance of most emerging markets compared with developed markets in recent years has fuelled interest in thematic strategies. The rise of the East

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The big issues for pension funds in 2011

December 14, 2010

Mercer Investment Consulting has published its predicted top trends for pension funds in 2011. With continued economic uncertainty around the world, Mercer expects further tight credit markets, a re-evaluation of the equity risk premium, concern about currency risk, and further allocations to emerging markets. The major trends are: 1. The

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Norway aims for ‘green’ returns

December 8, 2010

The Norwegian government is trying to balance financial returns with sustainable development in regulating the GPFG, and the possibility of applying this model to other sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and institutional investors in general. In this paper for the University of Oslo, Adjunct Professor Anita Halvorssen argues that sustainable development

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Tail risk hedging should be part of broader strategy

December 8, 2010

With bond yields at historic lows, particularly in the US, pension funds have been searching for new forms of downside protection to reduce tail risk, boosting demand for certain types of hedge funds in the process. In the US, too, where demand is invariably met by a quick supply of

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Tail risk hedging should be part of broader strategy

December 8, 2010

With bond yields at historic lows, particularly in the US, pension funds have been searching for new forms of downside protection to reduce tail risk, boosting demand for certain types of hedge funds in the process. In the US, too, where demand is invariably met by a quick supply of

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Endowment funds turn to alternatives

December 8, 2010

Foundation and endowment funds are allocating the largest percentage of alternatives to their portfolios, with public funds coming second ahead corporate plans in third place. During the past five years, foundation and endowment funds’ allocations to alternatives rose from 16 per cent in 2005 to 35 per cent in 2010.

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The case for a new look at global benchmarks

December 8, 2010

Indexes are important for pension funds. They benchmark the fund’s performance against goals and peers. They allow the fund’s managers to be measured and often times they decide the managers’ remuneration. You would think, then, that there must be a lot of science behind their use. That is difficult to

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Asia Pacific funds passport gathers momentum

December 8, 2010

State Street has thrown its weight behind the proposal for the Asian Pacific region to collaborate on development of an ‘Asian Funds Passport’ to facilitate the growth of locally domiciled managed funds. The proposal, raised at last month’s meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) in Japan, is to develop

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Private equity is not an asset class: Siguler

December 8, 2010

Is private equity an asset class? George Siguler (pictured), a doyen in the field, a former head of alternative investments for the Harvard endowment that formed his own firm, and a pioneer of unlisted investments in the BRIC countries, thinks not. He spoke with Greg Bright about the state of

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How turbulence measures can improve performance

November 24, 2010

Will Kinlaw, managing director of portfolio and risk management group at State Street Global Markets in Cambridge, tells Amanda White why new ‘turbulence’ indexes, measuring volatility and unusualness of returns, can guide investors in adjusting risk exposures and so improve returns. State Street Global Markets has developed a series of

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Ducks get in a row for UK’s NEST

November 24, 2010

If there was an opportunity for a clean slate, what investments and service providers would provide the optimal structure for your members? The UK’s National Employment Savings Trust is preparing to receive its first contributions next year. Amanda White spoke with chair Lawrence Churchill about that privilege and challenge. Long-term

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Sovereigns reign best on 3-legged stool

November 24, 2010

The optimal asset allocation for Sovereign Wealth Funds is a state-dependent allocation to three building blocks: a performance-seeking portfolio, an endowment-hedging portfolio, and a liability-hedging portfolio, according to research conducted by the EDHEC-Risk Institute. The conclusion from the first year of research work conducted at EDHEC-Risk Institute within the Deutsche

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Florida basks in sunny performance

November 24, 2010

The $109 billion Florida Retirement System Pension Plan remains in its rosy position as one of the US’ best performing funds, exercising its scale to effect with a total expense ratio of 32 basis points for the financial year 2009-10. The Florida State Board of Administration – which at June

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France’s SWF looks for manager on forex and risk

November 10, 2010

Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites, the €35.7 billion ($49 billion) French sovereign wealth fund, is looking for an overlay manager who will be charged with advising and informing the fund on foreign exchange risk and implementation of the risk exposure. The fund is split between the performance assets (about

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Coming out for gay and lesbian themes

November 10, 2010

With the return to favour of top-down equities management and renewed focus by pension funds on their asset allocation and beta exposures, there has consequently been a resurgence in thematic investment styles and products. (more)

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Major asset allocation review for $15b Thai fund

November 3, 2010

The $15 billion Thai Government Pension Fund is looking at a major asset allocation shift, having ridden out the financial crisis with a massive and fortuitous overweighting to bonds. There aren’t too many pension funds in the world where the members are so engaged that they actually hold demonstrations to

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GMO says QE2 set to hit shoals

November 3, 2010

On the eve of an anticipated second round of quantitative easing – QE2 – a number of commentators, including GMO’s Jeremy Grantham, have criticised Fed’s policy as a large net negative to the production of a healthy, stable economy. According to Grantham, chief investment strategist and co-founder of GMO, in

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A 22-year love affair transforms KIC

November 3, 2010

Everyone asks Scott Kalb, the chief investment officer for the $37 billion Korean Investment Corporation, how he got the job. Scott, as his name suggests, is not Korean. Well, it’s a long story. In 1978, a young Scott Kalb got an American academic scholarship to go to South Korea, as

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Hedging pays off for Future Fund

November 3, 2010

The Australian Future Fund’s policy of hedging its foreign currency exposures so that 80 per cent of the portfolio is held in Australian dollars has resulted in large inflows due to the AUD’s recent appreciation. In the September quarter, the Future Fund’s cash holdings increased from 13.1 to 18.5 per

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Asian equities no longer an asset class?

October 27, 2010

One of the ironies about the way big pension funds are rethinking their asset allocation strategies is that regional specialisation appears to be becoming less popular, even for the world’s fastest-growing region. In the continual evolution of their thinking and given a hurry-up by the global financial crisis, asset allocation

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CalPERS to finalise alternative asset classifications

October 27, 2010

CalPERS’s investment committee is expected to make a decision on its alternative asset classification at a November asset liability management workshop.The $218 billion fund has identified five broad asset classes under the alternative classification: growth, income, real assets, liquidity/hedge, and inflation. The liquidity/hedge bucket consists of Treasuries and provides interest

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Investors must lift ESG reporting standards: MSCI

October 27, 2010

As MSCI moves to expand its sustainability research capability to emerging markets, its global head of index and ESG research, Remy Briand, has urged investors to dramatically improve their reporting standards to make good on their ESG cause.The broadening of MSCI’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) research into emerging markets

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The nemesis of cap-weighted indexing turn attention to bonds

October 27, 2010

First he convinced some of us that cap-weighted indexing doesn’t work, now Rob Arnott, the founder of Research Affiliates, is back with more bombshells – that the equity risk premium, as we came to know it, is gone and not hurrying back; and that emerging market debt is “objectively a

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Top 20 managers lift share of global market

October 20, 2010

The largest 20 funds managers in the world lifted their combined market share last year as the industry recovered from two years of funds under management outflows. According to the annual survey of the largest 500 managers in the world by TowersWatson and Pensions & Investments magazine, total FUM increased

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US equities’ reallocations to hit small players

October 20, 2010

The US asset management and consulting arena is undergoing massive change, with large institutions re-allocating away from domestic exposures potentially having a big effect on the market, president of Rogerscasey, Tim Barron, says. According to Barron, large US institutions are selling domestic equities to buy fixed income, international equities, commodities

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Politicians, fraud and investment professionals at New York State’s $124b fund

October 13, 2010

Most public sector pension funds are subject to some sort of political interference, notwithstanding the best efforts of fund trustees and staff. Few, however, can rival the experience of America’s third-largest fund, the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Last week the fund’s sole trustee, Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat politician,

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Currency: a zero-sum game fiduciaries are forced to play

October 13, 2010

The biggest decision facing pension fund investment committees this year could well be their position on currencies, particularly the greenback and the euro. The currency decision is never an easy one to make and at the moment it seems particularly difficult as politics is overlaid onto market fundamentals. Last week’s

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