There is nothing like a bit of red-hot competition to get the blood pumping – 37 Principle for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatories are running for only six positions on the newly-structured PRI Advisory Council. Let’s hope this has the effect of actually transforming institutional investment portfolios, not just getting these responsible types a little spirited. (more…)

Domestic emerging managers are the latest focus in the private equity portfolio of the $239 billion CalPERS, with the fund searching for a new investment vehicle, most likely a customised fund-of-funds, to invest in partnerships that may be under-capitalised. (more…)

Managers are continuing to refine their strategies for target date funds, with more than a third of managers incorporating a tactical overlay into their asset allocation, a recent survey has revealed. (more…)

Corporate disasters such as the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the Fukushima nuclear disaster will be more prevalent and pose a greater risk to investors unless they act to comprehensively change the way they invest, a sustainability expert has warned. (more…)

Pension funds have invested nearly $1 trillion in alternative assets with the world’s largest managers, with total investments in the asset growing by 12 per cent last year, research has revealed. (more…)

This Paul Woolley Centre Working paper, analyses credit default swap settlement auctions, showing the current auction design many not result in the fair bond price, and suggests modifications to the auction design to minimise mispricing. In particular it finds that an auction undervalues bonds by 10 per cent on average, on the day of the auction.

(more…)