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

Investors take strong action on climate risk

One year after a ground-breaking Mercer report into the potential impact of climate change on portfolio performance, more than half of investor participants have decided to include climate change considerations into risk management and/or strategic asset allocation decisions.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Fiduciary duty to push for climate change action: CalPERS CEO

CalPERS chief executive Ann Stausboll told delegates at an investor summit on climate change held in New York this week that the fiduciary duty of pension funds should extend to issues outside the parameters typically understood as being directly related to beneficiaries’ financial interests. Stausboll said it is a fiduciary duty of investors not only

DC should look to DB for improvement

The defined contribution-dominated Australian superannuation market could do well to borrow the investment philosophy of its defined benefit cousins to better accommodate an individually-targeted retirement income strategy, a new paper finds.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

APG-backed hedge fund incubator expands

IMQubator, the emerging manager fund of funds backed by APG, will establish an international capital introduction network, as part of a plan to attract institutional investors in addition to the Dutch giant. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Emerging markets offer glimmer of hope in 2012

It seems all predictions for 2012 are predicated on the assumption that the mess in Europe doesn’t hit the global economic fan. But as money managers gaze into their crystal balls at what 2012 might hold, emerging markets, particularly Asia, seem a bright spot amid the gloom.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Investors’ climate summit

After a tentative agreement was achieved by global leaders in Durban in December more than 500 global investors will meet at the United Nations next week to discuss the investment needed to address climate change. The chief executive officers of CalPERS and CalSTRS, as well as the comptrollers of New York’s state and local public

Previous