CFA Institute Launches Research and Policy Center

The CFA Institute this week launched its Research and Policy Center, with the goal of engaging industry professionals to provide insights on the latest themes in the investment industry.

The center will publish thematic research on four specific themes: capital markets, technology, industry future and sustainability. The center’s research will be intertwined with the institute’s tenets of intellectual independence, impartiality and technical rigor, according to information from the CFA Institute.

“The CFA Institute Research and Policy Center offers a non-partisan forum for industry leaders, regulators, and subject-matter experts to address unprecedented and often systemic challenges and opportunities that are facing the investment industry,” said Paul Andrews, the CFA Institute’s managing director for research, advocacy and standards, in a statement.

The center’s first paper, “Future State of the Investment Industry,” highlights significant developments that will shape the investment industry and profession in the next five to 10 years, including deglobalization, sustainable finance, digital transformation and monetary policy. The report was developed with insight from 3,000 professionals, including the institute’s members and other industry experts.

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“Our future state of the investment industry survey findings show an investment industry at an inflexion point,” said Rhodri Preece, senior head of research at the CFA Institute. “The challenge to the industry and to investment professionals will be to adapt quickly and to create a better, more integrated, more sustainable and more client-focused sector.”

Earlier this year, the institute made changes to the CFA program, the biggest changes to the certification in its 61-year history, including different pathways for 2024 CFA charter candidates to focus on different skillsets, such as financial modeling and Python fundamentals. Candidates will have the option to choose specialized pathways in their studies, such as portfolio management, private wealth and private markets.

The new center, as well as the changes to the CFA program, are examples of efforts the institute is making to adapt to the changing world of the investment industry and how the institute is reacting to demand for new skills as new technology is introduced into the world of investment management, according to the institute.

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Tags: Asset Management, CFA Institute, CFA Institute Research and Policy Center, Paul Andrews, Rhodri Preece

The City of Phoenix Employees’ Retirement System reported a 5.4% investment return for the fiscal year that ended June 30, beating both its policy and custom benchmarks’ returns of 4.5% and 5.3%, respectively, to raise its asset value to $3.37 billion.

The top-performing asset class for the pension fund’s investment portfolio during the fiscal year was natural resources, which returned 15.3%, followed by developed market equities outside the U.S. and bank loans, which returned 14.5% and 11.9%, respectively. Emerging markets equities and U.S. equities returned 11.6% and 11.2%, respectively, while emerging market bonds returned 10.4%.

High-yield bonds gained 5.9% during the fiscal year, followed by global tactical asset allocation investments, which earned 4.7% for the pension fund. Cash equivalents and hedge funds returned 3.7% and 1.2%, respectively, while real estate investments lost 2.6% during the fiscal year.

As of the end of June, the asset allocation for the pension fund’s investment portfolio was 47.1% equities, which includes 21.5% in U.S. equities, 12.6% in developed market equities, 7.6% in private equity and 5.4% in emerging market equities. It has 18.8% allocated to real assets, which includes 14.5% in real estate, 2.5% in infrastructure and 1.8% in natural resources.

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Another 14.9% is allocated to rate-sensitive investments, which includes 10.5% in investment grade bonds and 4.4% in Treasury inflation-protection investments. Another 9.5% is in credit, which includes 4.5% in high-yield bonds, 2.8% in bank loans and 2.3% in emerging market bonds. The pension fund also has 4.2% in hedge funds, 3.0% in global tactical asset allocation investments and 2.5% in cash equivalents.