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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

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.

Extreme risks

The events of the last two years have demonstrated that risk management cannot afford to stop at the 95th percentile, and that risk management based solely on volatility is not sufficient. This research paper by Tim Unger, head of investment strategy at Watson Wyatt Australia and member of the global Thinking Ahead Group, considers 15

Recapitalisation and recovery in the REIT market

The REIT market will not consistently outperform the broader equity and fixed income markets has it has done for thepast 20 years, according to this research by Mercer Real Estate Boutique’s David Nix and Michelle Reuter, but there will be pockets of opportunity ripe for stock pickers.

Diversification – based investing – the new balanced

Not withstanding the effect, for investors, of globalisation, country and sector bets still drive the performance of global equity portfolios. And research shows that whole countries tend to stray from fair value for a lot longer than individual stocks do. Deutsche Asset Management has produced a paper on ‘Diversification-Based Investing’, which leads one to think

The new reality of pension investment strategies

A survey of more than 85 senior level financial executives at US-based companies reveals few are taking steps to cut costs and improve governance but are reacting to the economic crisis by decreasing equities and eliminating defined contribution investment options. The report by Watson Wyatt shows that two thirds of companies have made changes, or