Experts mull strategies in slow growth climate

Speaking at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Oxford University’s Rhodes House Fiona Trafford-Walker, director of consulting at Frontier Advisors argues that Australian investors are operating in a changed environment and need to “get used to slower economic growth.” Speaking as part of an expert panel on how the continued environment of slow growth and low … Read more

Institutions look to hedge funds to meet portfolio expectations

“Do hedge funds make sense?” asks Jean-Marc Stenger, chief investment officer for alternative investments at Lyxor Asset Management speaking at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Oxford University’s Rhodes House. Hedge fund assets may have reached a record $3 trillion in 2014 but the decision by a number of high profile pension funds to drop hedge funds from … Read more

Macro diversification: How do investors diversify risk?

“Geopolitics does matter and how to navigate geopolitical events on a portfolio is challenging,” argues Tom Clarke, partner and portfolio manager at William Blair speaking at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Rhodes House, Oxford University. In a session dedicated to macro strategies for investors to best navigate today’s complex investment universe and diversify risk, Clarke argues that “hiding” from … Read more

Oxford Professor urges urgent European reform

The University of Oxford’s distinguished Professor of Economics David Vines predicted the ongoing crisis in Europe will turn into a “train wreck with implications for investors” unless governments undertake significant reforms. He urges for large write downs of the sovereign debt of southern European countries, a loosening of austerity in those countries and a significant … Read more

Pioneers in factor investing

In 2014 Robeco went live with its Factor Investing Solutions: tailored solutions based on multiple factors. “Robeco is not the founder of factor investing, but we are among the first to translate the theory into practical investment solutions,” says Robeco’s Head of Factor Investing Research Joop Huij with pride. Read more about Robeco’s approach.

Indexing pressure improves active management

A new study of active and indexed-based mutual funds shows the impact of different countries’ regulatory and financial market environments. The study finds that the average alpha generated by active management is higher in countries with more explicit indexing and lower in countries with more closet indexing. The evidence suggests that explicit indexing improves competition in the mutual fund … Read more