Study accounts for TIPS, alternatives

PERS logoThe effects of adding TIPS and alternatives to the existing asset mix are being explored in an asset liability analysis conducted for the $53 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement System by Strategic Investment Solutions.

A presentation from SIS, which looked at five new asset allocation scenarios adding a 5 per cent alternatives allocation, and between a 0.1 per cent and 11.4 per cent allocation to TIPS, showed all except the most conservative mix achieved the actuarial return without accounting for alpha.

Further, reducing the total equities allocation by nearly 10 per cent, achieved through halving public equities and slightly increasing private equities, together with a 5 per cent and 4 per cent allocation to alternatives and TIPS, would yield the same expected return.

A risk/reward analysis was used to point toward an appropriate level of risk/return with the consultant finding generally the Sharpe ratio, or risk/return efficiency was higher for lower return mixes.

With liquidity analysis, and scenario analysis in inflation, deflation, recession and low-return environments, the conclusion was that the ultimate net cost does not suggest taking less risk.

A July presentation to the investment committee will include defining the ALM analyses, refining a potential asset allocation policy (including new asset classes such as the opportunity portfolio, alternatives and TIPS) and adopting a new asset allocation policy.

Sponsored Content

Asset allocation

Asset class target Mix4-1 Mix4-2 Mix4-3 Mix4-4 Mix4-5 current mix
Public equity 46% 19.8% 21.9% 24.2% 31.4% 39.2% 42.9%
Private equity 16% 18.8% 20.7% 22.9% 24.0% 25.0% 19.8%
Fixed income 27% 36.9% 36.9% 31.5% 28.5% 20.7% 25.7%
Real estate 11% 8.2% 10.1% 12.1% 11.0% 10.0% 9.4%
TIPS 0% 11.4% 5.5% 4.3% 0.1% 0.1% 0%
Alts Port 0% 5.0% 4.8% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 2.2%
Equity 73% 51.7% 57.6% 64.2% 71.4% 79.2% 74.3%
Expected return 8.61% 7.75% 8.08% 8.42% 8.76% 9.09% 8.61%
Std deviation 12.8% 10% 10.9% 11.9% 12.9% 14% 12.8%
Sharpe ratio 0.44 0.47 0.47 0.46 0.45 0.44 0.44

source: Strategic Investment Solutions

Leave a Comment

Sort content by

CalPERS urged to pull back commodities risk

CalPERS’ internal commodities team should enforce a tracking error limit for the portfolio it manages, and prepare to boost headcount and resources as investment opportunities evolve and funds under management grow, the fund’s primary asset consultant, Wilshire Associates, found in a review. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Corporate US plans expect too much

US corporate defined-benefit plans are still severely underfunded, with an artificially high return expectation contributing to the situation, according to a report of the funding status of 308 US corporate defined benefit plans by Wilshire Consulting. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Global instos collaborate on measuring water risks

Norges Bank Investment Management is leading a consortium of more than 130 institutions globally in a disclosure project aimed at providing investors with a comprehensive assessment of the water risks of the companies they invest in. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Wilshire survives and retains CalPERS consulting tender

Wilshire Associates has survived another competitive tender, trumping RogersCasey in the interview scoring process to retain the position of CalPERS’ lead general investment consultant, a position it has held since 1983. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Pension funds unite: you can double returns

Paul Woolley insists that he is pro market forces; he is not some sort of Trotskyite. A cursory glance at some of the research work he is either doing or financing might prompt scepticism. But this urbane Londoner who established the top-shelf GMO quant shop in Europe is mainly concerned about inefficiencies and mispricing. And

What investors really want

While the models of expected returns are evolving, they still do not recognise the role of expressive and emotional characteristics. In this guest editorial in the Financial Analysts Journal, Meir Statman, Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University, California, proposes including characteristics such as affect, social responsibility, status and patriotism in models of

Previous