To navigate rates and inflation uncertainty, OPTrust is leaning into dynamic portfolio construction, actively managed options, and a total portfolio approach supporting the belief that inflation resilience is built into how portfolios are constructed not an individual asset or exposure.
TPA allows investors to better manage investment trade-offs, such as liquidity, costs and alpha, and has public and private investments compete explicitly on a common risk-adjusted basis, according to a new paper by CPP Investments. The Canadian giant, which has been practising TPA for two decades, says TPA cannot eliminate uncertainty, but it helps build resilience to it.
Canada's HOOPP has officially adopted the total portfolio approach since the start of 2026. Unpacking the move, the fund's managing director and head of total portfolio group Jacky Lee writes that while the approach doesn't magically make the return better, the fact that it frees the investment team from outdated processes and gives investment leaders the flexibility to act is what gives it an edge.
Chief investment officer of the $225 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas Jase Auby has voiced reservations about the total portfolio approach, particularly regarding the robustness of its central feature, the top-down decision-making process. He also outlined why the fund doesn’t consider dynamic asset allocation a durable source of alpha.
Listen to the detailed interview between Top1000funds.com editor Amanda White and CalPERS' CIO Stephen Gilmore to gain insights into how a TPA mindset has the potential, through a shared focus on the total portfolio, to add value, simplify accountability and open new opportunities for investments.
Stephen Gilmore says he can add 50 to 60 basis points to portfolio returns by using a total portfolio approach. In a long interview, Amanda White spoke to the CIO of CalPERS about why a TPA mindset can add value, simplify accountability and open new opportunities for investments.
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