John Fawcett: Disrupting the secretive world of quants

I chat with John, the founder of Quantopian, on how he got started in quantitative finance, where he sees the industry evolving and how he created a global community of intrinsically motivated coders to create unique solutions to the greatest intellectual game on earth.

Nothing on this podcast is to be considered investment advice or a recommendation. No investment decision or activity should be undertaken without first seeking qualified and professional advice.

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Why traditional investment committees can amplify group biases

Why traditional investment committees can amplify group biases

Investment committee meetings, a governance cornerstone at every asset owner organisation, run the risk of amplifying group biases and social dynamics, and can push the IC towards recommending more extreme investment positions collectively than the average of their individual views. Bernhard Scherer, head of portfolio implementation at ADIA, unpacks the thesis in a new paper.

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PGGM looks to pare down asset classes

Examining the complexity of individual asset classes, and their associated risks in combination, has been a major project for PGGM. Amanda White spoke to managing director investment strategy, Jaap van Dam.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

France’s SWF looks for manager on forex and risk

Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites, the €35.7 billion ($49 billion) French sovereign wealth fund, is looking for an overlay manager who will be charged with advising and informing the fund on foreign exchange risk and implementation of the risk exposure.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

CalPERS rehires external FI managers despite preference for insourcing

CalPERS’ investment staff, and its consultant Wilshire, are recommending the board re-hire the fund’s external fixed-income managers which represent 9 per cent of the $50 billion fixed-income portfolio, despite the long-term strategy of a preference for insourcing.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Coming out for gay and lesbian themes

With the return to favour of top-down equities management and renewed focus by pension funds on their asset allocation and beta exposures, there has consequently been a resurgence in thematic investment styles and products. CLICK HERE TO READ MOREmrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

‘Lazy’ actuaries need to look forward, not back

The answer to underfunding is a closer working relationship between actuaries and investment professionals in forecasting investment returns and setting lower discount rates, according to Karen Harris, vice-president in the capital markets research group at Callan Associates, who believes funds cannot rely on investment strategies alone to get them “out of this hole”.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content

Hybrid pension plans: history, economics, features

As the trend away from defined-benefit pension funds continues around the globe, this paper by Towers Watson examines the plan design of hybrid funds looking at the risks, funding volatility, cost control and lifetime income.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

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