Partner and global head of Mercer’s responsible investment business, Jane Ambachtsheer, has received a lifetime achievement award for her commitment to socially responsible investment in Canada. She spoke to Amanda White about what it’s like to be a life-time achiever at the age of 36, and what still needs to be done in integrating ESG into portfolios.
This research paper examines the differences in the equity risk premium between developed and emerging markets. It observes the time varying nature of the equity risk premium in emerging economies, relates mainly to economic cycles, shocks and other macro phenomena (ie global financial market integration). Basic statistics also show that during the last decade the ERP shrunk, especially in advanced economies. To improve investigations on the higher emerging markets’ equity premium, a standard global asset pricing model is adopted.
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Global regulatory reforms promise to significantly impact investors in the derivatives market, ushering in important changes in clearing, trade execution, collateral management and investment operations, among other areas. While there are still many unknowns, investors will need to prepare themselves to adapt to an evolving and considerably altered investment landscape.
I had a moment this week where I was utterly absorbed by how indulgent my job can be. I interviewed Tim Hodgson, head of the Thinking Ahead Group at Towers Watson. He gets paid to think, and I was getting paid to talk to him about thinking. Anyway, it’s had a knock-on effect and ever since I’ve been mulling the origination of ideas. (more…)
The best return in 25 years for the Public Employee System of Idaho is testament to its investment simplicity – a basic asset mix, strict rebalancing, few manager relationships and limited internal investment staff – and proof that the appropriate investment structure is very idiosyncratic. (more…)
This study provides new empirical evidence on the impact of board structure, as an internal governance mechanism, on defined-contribution pension fund performance. It shows the composition of the board and the motivation of the board members are important in explaining pension fund performance. (more…)