Asset Allocation

Penn PSERS trims leverage, adds fixed income and hones in on fees

The $71.9 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System has reduced net leverage, added fixed income and continues to shave costs off its external investment management fees, mostly by reducing private allocations. The trimming and shifting of the portfolio is part of an adjusted SAA responding to ongoing market changes.
Sarah RundellSeptember 12, 2023
Investor Profile

MN: A new private debt allocation that integrates ESG

Sarah RundellAugust 22, 2023
Asset Classes

Positive stock and bond correlation will make portfolios more volatile

Ben HurleyDecember 20, 2022
Investor Profile

Real assets a haven in likely stagflationary environment

Amanda WhiteAugust 16, 2022
Investor Profile

NBIM charts 25 years of investing in fixed income

Sarah RundellOctober 11, 2021
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Fixed Income

Braving the unknown: high yield debt

Option-adjusted spreads for US high yield are above 700 basis points, a stress event threshold only breached four other times in the last two decades.  Mercer's Nathan Struemph examines the considerations for investors looking at these investments including the range of return outcomes in prior stress events, the path investors had to experience in reaching those outcomes, and the impact of implementation timeliness on returns.
Nathan StruemphJuly 21, 2020
Fixed Income

Dislocated credit market opportunities

Credit opportunities within long-only fixed income, hedge funds and private markets are broad and likely to expand as the economic impact of COVID-19 is reflected in corporate earnings and balance sheets. This type of environment has historically led to investment opportunities for long-term investors across the credit spectrum. Investors seeking to benefit from credit dislocation should ensure that suitable portfolio allocations are in place.
Joe Abrams, Daniel Natale and Scott ZipfelJuly 16, 2020
Fixed Income

APG China strategy: In-house with E Fund

APG's capacity to carry out its own research has meant it is ahead of the curve in allocation millions to its first local currency China fixed income strategy. APG is also setting itself up to be a catalyst for change and aims to set new standards on ESG in China.
Sarah RundellJanuary 15, 2020
Fixed Income

OTPP bucks trend, keeps buying bonds

Just as some of the world’s largest pensions funds sell down their fixed income holdings in favour of equities and private assets, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has been buying more in 2019 as it seeks to rebalance the portfolio in the event of an economic downturn.
Sarah JonesOctober 15, 2019
Harvard 2019

Threats to equity bond correlation

A full-blown trade war, and changes in monetary policy triggered by a loss of credibility in the Federal Reserve and other global policy institutions, could result in a return of the positive correlation between bonds and stocks, and investors need to be aware of the risk, warned Luis Viceira, George E. Bates Professor in the Finance Unit and Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education at Harvard Business School, at the Fiduciary Investors’ Symposium at Harvard University.
Sarah RundellOctober 14, 2019
Investor Profile

Wisconsin’s data solution

David Villa, CIO of the $110 billion State of Wisconsin Investment Board is worried about the outlook for returns. As a result he’s significantly underweight sovereign bonds in favour of cash. But he’s also positioning the organisation to do better analytics for more complicated portfolios, another result of a low return environment. The fund is working on at least five data and technology projects and has hired a chief technology and operations officer.
Amanda WhiteOctober 5, 2019
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