The two big decisions for fiduciary investors this year concern interest rates and currencies. But those decisions are relatively easy. What is a lot more difficult is: how do you go about implementing these big-picture decisions at the hands-on level?
CalPERS to slash fees in wake of $1bn external spend
CalPERS will set an external fee reduction target for the financial year, in light of the fact it spent more than $1 billion on external asset management fees in 2009-2010 and only a relatively modest $29.5 million on investment office personnel services including salaries.
DB beats DC in unequal race
The average corporate defined-benefit plan in the US has outperformed the Callan DC index by 1.61 per cent since 2006, although this is partly due to a difference in fee reporting.
Tail hedging can balance risk: PIMCO
Executive vice-president and head of client analytics at PIMCO, Sebastien Page, who is tasked with bringing the intellectual and analytical capital of the manager to clients in a new consultant-type role, says tail-risk hedging is an effective way to reduce volatility and enhance returns.
France’s FFR halves equities, weights bonds
Equities allocations have been slashed as a result of government changes to the liabilities of the Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites (FFR) which prompted changes to the fund’s investment policy.
Japan disaster registers shocks on the Macro Scale
The natural disaster in Japan, that has tragically killed more than 3,000 people, caused millions of dollars damage and thrown the Middle East off the front pages, could also mark a pivotal moment in investments, with markets back to being triggered by macro concerns.
