Asset owners invisible in capital debate

Asset owners are not visible in the policy debate about the structural shortage of long-term capital, according to Sony Kapoor, managing director of Re-Define, an economic and financial think tank that advises policy makers and civil society in the European Union. Kapoor, who recently completed a paper critiquing the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund’s investment strategy, … Read more

Dynamic allocation using minimum volatility

Active managers who are increasingly on the ropes as beta strategies encroach upon their alpha returns can take heart from the latest research from index provider MSCI. In the latest insight from Barra, Dynamic Allocation Strategies Using Minimum Volatility: Detecting Regime Shifts to Enhance Active & Passive Investing, Philippe Durand and John Regino argue that … Read more

CalSTRS asset liability study recommends…

The investment staff of the $170-billion Californian Teachers Fund, CalSTRS, will present new asset allocation recommendations to the board next week, with a reduction in fixed income and the adoption of a new “absolute return” category the likely outcome. The fund is in the final stages of the long process of its 2012 asset liability … Read more

Tapering talk poses tough questions

Talk of tapering sent markets into occasional spins this summer – with negative reactions even following positive economic signals at times. Should institutional investors be concerned though of a seemingly impending slowdown in quantitative easing? Opinions are split as to whether a potentially damaging crash is on the horizon or investors can largely dismiss the … Read more

Long-term social investment, Milan style

Italy boasts relatively few institutional investors, but the Milan-based Fondazione Cariplo shows that new investing standards can still be set in the home of the renaissance. The €7-billion ($9.3-billion) foundation’s most coveted investment work is its pioneering Italian funds in social housing – an asset area that has been touted in larger markets as an … Read more

Full throttle, part time at BP fund

Sally Bridgeland, chief executive of BP Pension Trustees, the £18.5-billion ($28.7 billion) pension fund for employees of one the world’s biggest oil companies, only works part-time. She made the decision after a near-fatal skiing accident when she says her life passed before her. She is BP’s first group leader to do so and is evangelical … Read more