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

Infrastructure – fewer fees, please

Public pension funds make up almost a quarter of the world’s 100 largest institutional investors in infrastructure and, while still favouring unlisted funds, they are increasingly investing directly and pushing back on management fees, research reveals. The research by global alternatives research firm, Preqin, shows a record number of funds on the road seeking a

Pensionomics,
a money-go-round

As debate rages in the US about the generous retirement benefits and high cost of state and local defined benefit (DB) schemes, new research sheds light on the role these funds play in stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Pensionomics 2012: Measuring the Economic Impact of DB Pension Expenditures looks at the effect of DB

Total cost shakedown at CalPERS

Up to 8.9 basis points will be slashed from the total cost of managing the CalPERS’ investment portfolio in the next three years, under a new investment resource strategy which could also see internal administration costs increase by $6.5 million next year, and internal staff accountable for internal versus external management allocations. The internal investment

ESG almost an afterthought

Only 26 of 4300 companies surveyed by Governance Metrics International (GMI) have a specific clause that measures executive compensation against a sustainability metric, and institutional investors play a pivotal role in transforming this behaviour. Kimberly Gladman, director of research and risk analytics at the governance research company GMI, says investors should set the expectations that

Broader engagement at UNPRI

The United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI) will expand its focus beyond the micro focus of ESG implementation for its signatories to include thought-leadership research and public and policy debate, writes Amanda White. James Gifford, executive director at UNPRI, said the new strategy came out of its board meeting last week in Australia and

Are hedge fund investors getting what they paid for?

Alternative hedge fund beta allows investors to access the returns generated by hedge funds without the pressures of finding alpha, says Fama family professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Tobias Moskowitz. Moskowitz says there are three components to hedge fund returns: unique alpha, traditional market beta, and “something else”,

Previous