Infrastructure on the Defensive

The unwinding of several high profile infrastructure funds in the recent past has prompted questions as to the performance of infrastructure assets/investments and the impact of the current credit markets, on the outlook for the sector.

Mercer remains positive on the long-term fundamentals for the infrastructure sector, especially in the emerging markets. Moreover, we believe that the credit crunch will likely provide the catalyst for differentiating between the capable and less capable managers.

This article examines the performance of infrastructure in the context of the state of today’s credit markets.

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GIC, Temasek eye trillions of growth in climate adaptation market

GIC, Temasek eye trillions of growth in climate adaptation market

Singapore’s two largest asset owners, GIC and Temasek, see attractive opportunities in climate adaptation solutions – a relatively underfunded area compared to decarbonisation. The former has already made selective adaptation investments and said the opportunity set across public and private debt and equity could increase to $9 trillion by 2050.

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The undesirable effects of banning short sales

In his latest paper, professor of finance at EDHEC risk and asset management research centre based in France, Abraham Lioui, conducts an in-depth study of the recent decision to ban short selling, highlighting the quesionable reasons for the ban and the prejudices that weigh on those that short. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Refining portfolio construction when alphas and risk factors are misaligned

In this research insight MSCI Barra explores the mitigation of misaligned risk and alpha factors by modifying the optimisation process. Firstly it reviews how to decompose a set of alphas into two components – one that is related to risk model factors, and one that is not. Then it shows how penalising the residual alpha

Alternative investments for institutional investors: risk budgeting techniques

This paper, produced by EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research, presents an empirical analysis of the benefits of alternative forms of investment strategies from an asset-liability management perspective. Using a vector error correction model that explicitly distinguishes between short-term and long-term dynamics in the joint distribution of asset returns and inflation, we identify the presence

ESG in emerging markets comes of age

Gaining Ground is a report by Mercer, in conjunction with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, examining the integration of environmental, social and governance factors into investment processes in emerging markets. It includes the first ever rating on ESG practices in China, India, South Korea and Brazil. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Structured products: risk sharing or risk shifting?

In a research paper entitled “Tumbling Tower of Babel: Subprime Securitization and the Credit Crisis” in the latest Financial Analysts Journal, Bruce Jacobs argues that highly complex financial instruments, were devised to shift risk from one part of the financial system to another, but the underlying systematic risk remained. And when magnified by huge amounts

Future looks bright for hedge funds

US consulting firm, Hammond Associates’ most recent alternative investments report, which highlights the fact there were very few places to hide in 2008, outlines the performance of the various asset classes and the outlook for the sector. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

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