No discount for alpha

Just because the BlackRock/Barclays Global Investors merger will create a global funds management behemoth – with $3 trillion under management and 9,000 employees in 24 countries – does not mean alpha will come more cheaply. Amanda White spoke to vice chair of BlackRock, Robert Fairbairn, about what the merger means for products, clients and the

Emerging wealth

In this research report Watson Wyatt asserts the long-term outlook for emerging economies will impact positively on emerging market investments, but it warns that choice of asset class and implementation route are not obvious. The report suggests exposure to the macroeconomic dynamics of emerging markets will be most readily obtained in emerging market equities, debt

Pension funds need to show leadership on manager fees

It’s time for pension funds to show some leadership on funds management fees, to demonstrate that they are at the top of the food chain – they have the check book. Roger Urwin, global head of investment content for Watson Wyatt Worldwide, believes pension funds have, to a large extent, been captive to the fee

Portfolio concentration and the fundamental law of active management

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.

Ones and Zeroes: AustralianSuper tackles correlations

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