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How are investors positioning portfolios and managing short and-long term risks in the current environment?[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” 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title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]
Key takeaways
Ben
Going forward, private equity will represent the best opportunity to exceed our target return. We are exploring unique ways to increase our exposure.
We cannot hide from risks if we want to hit the target return.
We have invested time in building a balance sheet liquidity management framework
Not all uses of liquidity are equal, nor are the sources (in terms of costs or reliability for example).
Our pre-emptive planning work around 10 pathways to liquidity on demand helped up keep calm and carry on.
We see the greatest opportunity in private markets.
Ronald
In the first 8 weeks of the crisis we focused on modelling 3 scenarios – ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’.
High inflation rate would be a surprise but a possible scenario (for example price rises in petrol or medicines due to high consumption).
The Florida State Board of Administration has made some strategic moves to take advantage of opportunities in the dislocation, including in private equity, distressed debt and active listed equities.. But CIO, Ash Williams, is concerned about the underlying real economy.
Two ex-central bankers, Randy Kroszner and Lucrezia Reichlin, said that central banks were doing everything they could to ensure markets continue to function. They said inflation was unlikely.
For some investors, plunging equity valuations in March were an opportunity to ‘get back in’ at reasonable prices. More recently the rapid recovery has been a cause to position conservatively once again.
FIS 2020 will discuss how the unprecedented government stimulus in response to the pandemic could affect investor returns and specific allocations. Areas of concern include a sharp rise in zombie companies kept afloat by government support.
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