Investment managers in Europe fail to employ techniques that avoid generating overly-concentrated portfolios because of poor input estimation, and do not fully take into account extreme risks when constructing portfolios, according to research by the EDHEC Risk and Management Research Centre.
…as Government quantitative measures push up liabilities
Quantitative easing measures introduced by the UK’s Bank of England aimed at kick-starting the local economy have had the unintended consequence of pushing up UK pension scheme liabilities.
New Jersey winds back alternatives program
The $59 billion New Jersey Division of Investment, has made several changes to its alternatives investment portfolio including a slowdown in new commitments, on the back of a belief that large institutions with high allocations to alternatives will be forced to sell portions of their portfolios in order to raise liquidity and rebalance their overall asset allocations.
Record losses for UK DB plans underscored by reliance on markets…
Five consecutive days leading into March were the most volatile on record for UK final salary pension schemes since accounting standards were changed in 2001, reflecting the risks associated with funding dependence on investment markets.
Private equity NAVs to fall further, but 80% discounts are unjustified
While the net asset values (NAVs) of private equity funds have been spared the steep declines taken by major indexes, the reporting lags inherent in private equity fund valuations should unveil double-digit losses for the first half of 2009.
Feeling the force of falling endowments
A number of Ivy League universities – including Yale, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) – are directly feeling the affects of the negative performance of their endowment funds, and are being forced to cut operating budgets for the 2009/10 financial year.
