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Editorial

Does pay for performance work?

Governance experts say that paying competitive salaries for internal staff will have benefits across the entire fund. For some, including those working in public sector pension funds or profit-to-member funds, that is unpalatable. But a comparison of salaries and total investment costs, between two large, different and high profile funds – Ontario Teachers and CalPERS […]
Amanda WhiteFebruary 13, 2015
Uncategorised posts

Why long-horizon investors should adopt factor-based asset allocation

Long-horizon investors can withstand macro-economic volatility and so should tilt towards strategies that are exposed to that, including value, small cap and momentum. Oleg Ruban, vice president in the applied research team at MSCI says this validates factor-investing and factor-based asset allocation for these investors.   Appropriate asset allocation requires explicit attention be paid to […]
Amanda WhiteOctober 3, 2014
Asset Classes

Costs cast increasing doubt over hedge fund relevance

The inability to scale hedge fund exposures and risks, has led many large investors, like CalPERS this week and ATP last year, to exit their hedge fund programs. Complexity continues to be a drain on the relevancy of hedge funds, but importantly cost is driving the agendas of these investors. As AQR’s Cliff Asness admits, […]
Amanda WhiteSeptember 17, 2014
Asset Allocation

CalPERS grapples with new allocation targets

Implementing the asset allocation changes of a very large portfolio, particularly in private markets, is a conundrum CalPERS is dealing with as it moves its asset allocation and decides how to fill new private market allocations.   In February this year the $283 billion CalPERS investment committee approved a new strategic asset allocation which will […]
Amanda WhiteMay 14, 2014
Investor Profile

Harvard’s sustainability plan

Last month Harvard Management Company was the first US university endowment to sign the PRI. It has also appointed its first vice president of sustainable investing as it seeks to incorporate ESG considerations in its decision making. So how is HMC integrating ESG in its portfolio?   Harvard University has taken a stand for sustainability. […]
Amanda WhiteMay 2, 2014
Investment Think Tanks

PE LPs overweighting home-state is hurting returns

New research finds institutional investors favour investing in private equity general partners that are located in the same state as their organisation. This is intuitive as local knowledge and contacts attract investments. However research from Stanford University finds this bias is coming at a large cost – about $1.2 billion a year – particularly for […]
Amanda WhiteFebruary 12, 2014
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