What are the benefits of using a CTA (managed futures) fund in a portfolio? What is a reasonable allocation and where should it come from?

Does retirement income public policy and the design of the super system need to move into a new direction?

Three insights from philosophy are helpful in times of financial and economic crisis and can result in improved decision-making...

Reading is a basic tool of serious investing - but only if done in an engaged and critical way. Here is an exercise in critical reading.

Videos, presentations, podcasts and papers from the jam-packed three day program featuring 50 international and local investment experts sharing their thoughts on the challenge of tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about constructing portfolios.

If all the money invested in hedge funds had been put in T-bills, the results would've been twice as good.

Are alternative investments as complex as them seem - and how can the optimal mix be implemented in portfolios?

Globalisation, the rise of China and technology have profoundly increased competitive pressures on business. This dynamic is critical in equity investment...

By focusing on investors’ primary objectives (capital preservation and a reasonable return), a more efficient investment approach is possible...

Fixed income investing for the future will need to be different from the past in order to maximise portfolio outcomes...

The short- and long-term structural factors remain intact to drive Asian stock markets...

Every investment management firm claims it is different from its competitors. Yet many firms produce results that are anything but different. What does it mean to be contrarian?

Treating emerging markets as a single asset class can underpin long-term capital growth, preservation of capital and lower volatility of returns...

Unlisted property is well-suited to the mood of investors – it should provide a return derived largely from income. The issue is the scars of the past...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Steven Halmarick shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, PIMCO's Bill Gross shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Hamish Douglass shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Anthony Bolton shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Dividend-yield strategies have outperformed in up and down markets, making them more of an all-weather approach than many may think...

The process of reallocation to EM bonds is likely to accelerate, creating more liquidity and stability, and adding to their attractiveness for retirement income needs...

Global tactical asset allocation is a strategy that is well tailored to the new paradigm, generating excess returns with low volatility in both bull and bear markets...

The deleveraging cycle is creating a conundrum for investors and asset managers. Investors want more income but with less risk...

Exploring the myth that active portfolio management is solely about alpha, ignoring the (tax) consequences of how alpha is generated – and why passive portfolios cost more than you think...

The search for yield has never been more difficult. Can income-oriented managed funds compete with direct equities and ETFs?

Exploring how to augment traditional portfolio construction techniques though better understanding of how asset classes' correlate in particular bonds and equities...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Dr Joanne Warner shares her views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Michael Hasenstab shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Prof Jack Gray shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Alan Brown shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Prof Amin Rajan shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Prof Toby Moskowitz of Chicago University shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios...

Key takeouts from the Conference Masterclass 2012 program, and actions to take when building investor portfolios.

How a privately-owned, self- licensed advice firm transformed to ensure a win-win for clients and the business...

Advisers who wish to attract HNW clients must provide a viable and effective value proposition to SMSF members - and that may mean developing a new advice framework.

Defensive portfolios face two permanent risks – interest rate risk and inflation risk. Managing these should be the highest priority of any defensive portfolio...

Developing a scalable and efficient advice proposition means transforming every aspect of the business – from client communication, compliance, staffing and profitability...

Michael discusses how his firm combines portfolio diversification with active portfolio management, to ensure client's goals are met.

Many practitioners want to manage their clients’ asset allocation more proactively (not tactically!) but find the implementation issues confusing...

There are an increasing number of multi-asset class "real return" funds available. Are they really different to the multi-sector funds of old?

PortfolioConstruction Forum Symposium is a unique professional development program designed and presented specifically for NZ practitioners who focus on giving quality investment advice. The two-day program featured leading local and international investment professionals presenting on contemporary and emerging portfolio construction issues around the three pillars for building better quality investor portfolios - markets, strategies and investing.

This Academy Seminar debates the following three topics in a Socratic learning environment: Better the devil you know; Demystifying quantitative equity investing; and, Investment Fables IV - Growth.

Overcoming the limitations of financial theory and the biases of its practitioners is difficult but not impossible - the financial equivalent of the Hippocratic oath may help...

A pick of the investment bunch, as identified by research house Lonsec for you to consider for your Approved Products List.

Building debt portfolios used to be easy. But it’s much harder now. These days, the debt side of portfolios must be absolutely secure and should designed as three buckets...

This Due Diligence Forum Research Paper and Presentation examine why infrastructure assets have performed differently to other investable assets (and whether we can expect this to continue), how this performance can be linked to underlying asset characteristics, and how investors can use some of the unique attributes of infrastructure to improve portfolio returns...

This Due Diligence Forum Research Paper and Presentation argue that strategic asset allocation should be determined with a long-term horizon in mind - so the key input in the construction process is the long-term return outlook for different asset classes. To help inform that judgment, we should consider returns through three separate lenses: - what did happen, what theory says should have happened, and what the market is pricing will happen.

This Due Diligence Forum Research Paper and Presentation examine the various income options available to NZ retail investors, and look closely at the extent to which they are being appropriately rewarded for the risk posed by various income products including hybrids...

This Due Diligence Forum Research Paper and Presentation focus on how to construct multi-manager global share portfolios in a way to reduce the overall risk of the portfolio without dampening or reducing the overall expected outperformance of the underlying managers...

In this Workshop, two full-time research professionals demonstrated how they would design a portfolio for a real investor, based on a real world portfolio construction case study submitted by one of the Symposium delegates...

As with debt portfolios, many advisers are designing and building direct equity portfolios of NZ and Australian equities. In this Critical Issues Forum, our presenters had 15 minutes each to argue their case - one for using passive direct equities via ETFs when building NZ/Australian equity portfolios and the other for using active managed funds...

In the short term, we often see dramatic differences in the performance of hedged versus unhedged portfolios. This interactive Workshop debated the pros and cons of various currency hedging strategies and provided insights into what you should consider in setting your own currency management policy.

Many New Zealand advisers are designing and building debt portfolios by buying bonds direct. Our two presenters had 15 minutes each to argue their case - one for building direct debt portfolios and the other for using active managed funds.

Two retail fund analysts have been awarded scholarships by Blackrock Investment Management and PortfolioConstruction Forum to attend the prestigious CIMA Program...

How ironic that the former safe havens of bonds and income-oriented equities now stand accused of being 'crowded trades' - the new bubbles...

PortfolioConstruction Forum asked the fund research houses - should gold be a part of most investors’ portfolios?

The average active Australian equity manager aims to deliver 3% to 4% alpha per year - so it's quite out of the ordinary for a manager to target 8% alpha pa...

This Academy Seminar debates the following three topics in a Socratic learning environment: Investment fables III - Value; What does financial success look like in retirement; and, Turning micro China observations into macro insights.

This Academy Seminar debates the following three topics in a Socratic learning environment: Investment fables II - Momentum; Making sense of Markets Summit; and, Developing a robust philosophy and policy...

This Asset Class Forum session at the 2012 Markets Summit saw our presenters and Inquisitors debate the outlook for the Australian debt and equities market, REIT market, Asian equities market and global commodities market, and the portfolio construction implications...

The 2012-2014 outlook for the global commodities market versus cash, the risks and opportunities, and portfolio construction implications...

The 2012-2014 outlook for the Asian equities market versus cash, the risks and opportunities, and portfolio construction implications...

This Asset Class Forum session at the 2012 Markets Summit focused on the 2012-2014 outlook for the Australian equities market, including the most likely scenario, performance v cash, risks and opportunities, and portfolio construction implications...