The latest
Research

Smart beta versus smart alpha

With the advent of smart beta it was only a matter of time before the appropriate use of “smart” was analysed and questioned. A paper to be published in the forthcoming summer 2014 issue of The Journal of Portfolio Management looks at the active choices of smart beta strategies and how and when they can […]
Amanda WhiteMay 14, 2014
Asset Allocation

US funds need paradigm asset allocation shift

US public pension funds are ignoring their liabilities in managing their pension assets, a situation that needs a paradigm shift in thinking and asset allocation to ensure benefits can be paid to beneficiaries. The dialogue about the US public pension funds’ underfunding position continued at the CFA Institute’s annual conference this week, with Ronald Ryan […]
Amanda WhiteMay 9, 2014
Uncategorised posts

International reaction to QSuper’s innovation

Australian fund, QSuper’s creation of eight different investment cohorts for its 440,000 default fund members this month has sparked curiosity and admiration from defined contribution experts in the US, the UK and New Zealand. The investment strategies for each group will be focussed on an estimated retirement outcome for that segment, taking into account the […]
Amanda WhiteMay 9, 2014
Investor Profile

Risks are multi-faceted and evolving: Litterman

If Robert Litterman were a CIO of a public pension plan he would not try to hit an “unrealistic return target”. Amanda White speaks to him about risk, quants, asset allocation and climate change. There is a serious problem with US public pension funds and the “unrealistic commitments and unrealistic return targets” they have set, […]
Amanda WhiteMay 7, 2014
Research

Pension risk in DC funds

Defined contribution plans focus too much on the short-term accumulation of pension assets rather than the longer-term goal of securing an adequate retirement income. This paper by the World Bank, based on case studies from a number of countries, argues that pension supervisors have not properly defined the objectives of DC pension systems It suggests […]
Amanda WhiteMay 7, 2014
Investor Profile

Harvard’s sustainability plan

Last month Harvard Management Company was the first US university endowment to sign the PRI. It has also appointed its first vice president of sustainable investing as it seeks to incorporate ESG considerations in its decision making. So how is HMC integrating ESG in its portfolio?   Harvard University has taken a stand for sustainability. […]
Amanda WhiteMay 2, 2014
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