Asset owners are lowering return targets, shrinking active long-only allocations and getting tough on fees as harsh outlooks persist, the annual Top1000funds.com/Casey Quirk survey reveals.
ANALYSIS
Markets main fear for CIOs: survey
ANALYSIS
Rethink fund manager relationships
When the £16 billion BBC Pension Scheme started moving away from active listed strategies, it was time to rethink its interactions with external managers, starting with a few key questions.
OPINION
Building a better fee model
Changes in standard funds-management fee structures are inevitable. Better alignment and fairness can be arranged if the stakeholders are willing to make it happen. Mercer presents some ideas.
INVESTOR PROFILE
CPPIB focuses managers on long term
The C$337 billion CPPIB works towards a full understanding of its external managers’ strategies. These efforts, plus a customised fee structure, ensure a focus on long horizons.
ANALYSIS
Most popular stories of 2017
This year, as you might expect, our readers placed six investor profiles among our top 10 most read stories. See what other types of stories topped the list and find out what was No. 1.
INVESTOR PROFILE
Cambridge hedge fund insight sells
Most of the outsourced CIO clients of Cambridge Associates have aggressive asset allocations, with a tilt towards alternatives and hedge funds. But do the high fees eat into the potential alpha?
OPINION
Fees get another rethink
A new measure of the value a manager adds meets a proposed rate of compensation and protection for asset owners in the Thinking Ahead Institute’s plan for fairer performance fees.
INSIDER
Strive for elegance on fees: consultant
Albourne's John Claisse says hedge funds must make more flexible arrangements with managers to survive and points to the ‘1 or 30’ model for its simple approach to putting the focus on alpha.
INVESTOR PROFILE
Future Fund revamps equities
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has revamped its equities portfolio to take on deliberate factor risk and target idiosyncratic risk. The fund’s head of equities, Björn Kvarnskog, explains.
ANALYSIS
CalPERS says consultants could do better
CalPERS is happy with its consultants, except for their performance in recommending ways to control fees and costs and their presentation of new investment ideas, a board rating reveals.
INVESTOR PROFILE
OTPP’s private equity revolution
A deep dive into the world-class private capital division of OTPP, led by Jane Rowe, reveals a strategy of buying large direct stakes in companies, and a commitment to innovation.
ANALYSIS
Factors trump skill: MSCI
MSCI research has shown that, among top-performing funds, more than half of active returns come from factors, rather than manager skill, and style factors have the biggest impact.
