Metals and Mining: A Tale of Two Doughnuts
Preqin has turned its Spotlight on Real Assets in a new publication, drawing our attention in particular to metals and mining. Among the institutional investors that say they are targeting unlisted...
View ArticleMega-Trends and Possible Future Normals
A new CFA Institute report, working from a survey of 1,145 leaders in the contemporary global investment industry, discusses the mega-trends at work, including: technological advance, shifting client...
View ArticleThe Case for Bargain Hunting in South Africa
Charles Roth, of Thornburg Investment Management, has made the case that markets have over-reacted to the recent political shake-up in South Africa, driving asset prices below their underlying value....
View ArticlePreqin: Another Net Outflow Year Underway for Hedge Fund Industry
In the February issue of its Hedge Fund Spotlight, Preqin looks into its crystal ball and tells us of its near term (2017) predictions for the hedge fund industry. The article begins with a simple...
View ArticleErnst & Young on ESG Reporting
Are companies leveling with their shareholders and stakeholders in reporting data pertinent to their environmental and social impacts and their governance issues? Whether they are or arenât...
View ArticleGeneration Two Liquid Alternatives
Beachhead Capital Management has published a white paper on what it calls the âsecond generation of liquid alternatives.â To begin at the beginning, âliquid alternativesâ are investment...
View ArticleRisk Management Isnât Just Fund Selection
New Strategies for Risk Management in Private Equity, a new book from Private Equity International, is an anthology of papers on the titular subject. It is edited by Dr. Ivan Herger to offer investors...
View ArticleLongevity Risk Transfer Markets: Limits to Growth
It was a fairly routine item about an accomplished executive changing jobs in the asset management industry, but it caught my eye. A March 2017 news item said that Andrew Reid, until recently the head...
View ArticleWhat makes a great Chief Investment Officer?
By Charles Skorina All professional investors want to make money. The question is, how and for whom? In the for-profit world of Wall Street asset managers and retail mutual funds, the differences...
View ArticleESG Concerns Have Multi-Factored Impact on Performance
The Cornerstone Capital Group, in a new white paper, looks at some of the specific interactions between ESG and investment factors. The paper, by Michael Geraghty, a global equity strategist for...
View ArticleSWFs: Growth Slows but Continues
Preqinâs new Sovereign Wealth Fund Review makes the point that total assets under the management of SWFs continue to grow, but the rate of growth is notably slowing. This graph, measuring in US$...
View ArticleHedge Funds and Sell-Side Analysts: Who is Tipping Off Whom?
Nathan Swem, an economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, has written a paper on an always fascinating subject: the flow of information in financial markets. The point, in...
View ArticleHighlights in the Growth of Farmland Funds
Highquest Partners and a product strategist for timber and agriculture at GMO LLC (Julie Koeninger) have collaborated on a white paper on the history of farmland investment, at its heart the story,...
View ArticleReal Assets and Environmental/Social Impacts
Itâs an old debate: does socially responsible investing under its variations (including âimpact investingâ) come at a cost in terms of risk-adjusted performance? Or does it actually add a...
View ArticleState Pensions and Complex Investments
A recent report from the PEW charitable trusts discusses the degree to which the pension funds of the states of the United States are increasing their use of âcomplex investments.â It also speaks...
View ArticleEMANCIPATION FROM PARTICIPATION
By Diane Harrison The mindset of âIâm OK, youâre OKâ endorsed by todayâs progressive parents who aim to reward their âprecious snowflakeâ children for every endeavor regardless of...
View ArticleThe Cryptocurrency Ecosystem: A New Benchmark Study
It is clear by now to even the most hardened skeptic that cryptocurrency, the class of assets of which bitcoin is the paradigm, is much more than a passing fad. Yes, the field may once have been too...
View ArticleMaking a Case: Divestiture is the Wrong Tool Re Climate Risk
Sarah Bernstein, of the Pension Consulting Alliance, has prepared a discussion paper for the benefit of the Vermont Pension Investment Committee, on climate risk divestment. Specifically, Bernstein...
View ArticleFirst Quarter: An Industry Recovers From a Dry Spell
Preqinâs review of the hedge fund space in the first quarter of 2017 describes the quarter as a time of âreturn to formâ after a dry spell. Two thirds of the investors interviewed by Preqin at...
View ArticleEvidence that Sovereign Wealth Funds Mitigate the Agency Problem
Ever since the 1930s, scholars have discussed the âagency problemâ built into the structure of publicly owned corporations. This was a theme of Ronald Coaseâs landmark article, âThe nature of...
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