From ai5000 Magazine: Risk Parity, or Just Risky?
The consensus: The rise of derivatives and, more recently, extreme equity volatility have driven many asset owners into the arms of risk parity vendors. The debate: Is this a good thing?
News
OECD Urges Countercyclical Funding Regs to Thwart DB Closures
The organization is putting pressure on governments and policymakers
to try to avoid relying on current market values when determining
contributions and to allow "appropriate levels of over-funding in good
economic times," among other recommendations.
From ai5000 Magazine: A Profile of No One
Europeans (effete liberals!) love it. Public pensions and foundations (goody-two-shoes!) like it. Yet, to American corporate defined benefit plans, socially responsible investing—bearded hippies!—has been anathema to their very existence. Will this ever change?
Commodity Rebound May Lead to Record Year for China's SWF
After a 2.1% loss on its global assets in 2008, the China investment Corp. will likely post its best yearly gain in 2009, boosted by rebounding markets and investment in commodity-related companies.
From ai5000 Magazine: Antoine De Salins, CEO, FFR
De Salins, CEO of France's €35 billion Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR), spoke with ai5000 in his Paris office about liquidity issues, asset allocation, and, above all, the nuances of responsible investing.
Obama Signs Reform, DB Plans Expected to Get Relief
President Obama's signature on the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill
gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities
& Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight of the roughly $600 trillion
OTC derivatives market while forcing most swaps to be cleared on a
regulated exchange.
From ai5000 Magazine: Carol McFate, CIO Xerox
McFate, after spending two decades in the insurance industry, became the chief investment officer for Xerox in late 2006. In early May, she sat with ai5000 to discuss the intertwined topics of market uncertainty and risk management.
Amid Fundraising Uptick, Infrastructure Deal Volume Remains Low
Despite the highest fundraising figures following the financial
crisis, private equity infrastructure deal volume this year is squeezed.
From ai5000 Magazine: Eric Upin, CIO, Makena Capital Management
Upin -- formerly at the Stanford Management Company and Sequoia
Capital and now Chief Investment Officer at Menio Park-based Makena
Capital Management -- spoke with ai5000 in defense of the much maligned
endowment model.
CalSTRS Thanks Alternatives for Positive Returns
The pension credited its 12.3% return for
the 2009 to 2010 fiscal year to a greater allocation to alternative
investments.
Following the Crash and Nassim Taleb, Firms Start to Offer Black Swan Protection
PIMCO is the latest vendor with plans to offer protection against violent market swings following the 2008 collapse and warnings by commentators such as Nassim Taleb of “Black Swan” fame.
CIO Survey Shows Long-Only Active Equity Strategies Poised to Lose
In a a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods survey of chief investment officers
overseeing US institutional portfolios, investors are showing a growing
interest in “barbell” allocations to indexed equities and high-alpha
alternatives.
CalPERS Sued for Details About $100 Million in Failed Property Investments
Under
the Public Records Act, the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) filed the
suit against the pension demanding access to records revealing factors
influencing CalPERS' financial commitment in 2006 to the Page Mill
Properties II project.
BlackRock Takes Over Equitable Life Mandate to Manage Risk
Equitable Life's new
outsourcing deal with BlackRock is one of the largest European asset
management mandates of the year.
AIMCo's Leo de Bever Cautions Against Infrastructure
With investors chasing limited opportunities, have we reached
an infrastructure bubble and is there light at the end of the tunnel?