Kotkin warns of Ukraine break up as key geopolitical risk

It is not war between Russia and Ukraine that investors should be concerned about, according to Professor Stephen Kotkin, but the destabilising effects of Russia’s actions that could impact globalisation and harm the west. Watch this video interview with Princeton University’s geopolitical expert.

CalSTRS’ cautious outlook

CalSTRS’ long-time CIO, Chris Ailman, is cautious about the outlook for markets with his “spider senses” working over time trying to understand the hidden risks in the economy. He told Amanda White the fund will focus the year on allocating to diversifying strategies and climate solutions.

Internalisation drives value added for large funds

Size matters in institutional investing, but how exactly does it result in better returns? Research by CEM Benchmarking shows large, internalised, active investors produce more net value added than small, externalised, passive investors. Internalising private markets is a significant predictor of value add.

Proposed US DoL rules on ESG ignore duty of impartiality

Fiduciary duty principles must be adaptive to change and the US has fallen behind. The authors argue that a more comprehensive application of fiduciary duty principles in the US is necessary to protect the life savings of ERISA plan participants. In particular impartiality is important for pension plans.