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?
The New Normal will "take you down" and lower expectations of future asset returns - maybe not "forever" but for a long, long time.
Until we see the US producing at least 200,000 to 250,000 jobs a month, the Fed is likely keep rates low.
The US GDP growth rate we've been used to for over a 100 years - in excess of 3% a year - is not just hiding behind temporary setbacks. It is gone forever.
Three insights from philosophy are helpful in times of financial and economic crisis and can result in improved decision-making...
Four key risks - the US fiscal cliff, EU debt crisis, global slowdown, and Middle East - are highly interconnected and yet to truly impact markets.
We recommend moving to neutral risk weightings in portfolios until a favourable resolution of the US fiscal cliff becomes more likely. A malign outcome is a clear possibility.
The current financial advice model serving retirees is suboptimal.
Are investors being paid enough to take on risk in the current market? Are systemic risks just as bad as in 2007? What is the best risk mitigator?
Volatility is a risk for any portfolio that has cash flows, irrespective of investment time horizon. The culprit is sequencing risk, the risk of returns occurring in an adverse order.
Dynamic asset allocation, MPT, risk premia, and how to get the regulator on board with a DAA approach.
We need to understand and assess four aspects of risk to truly understand a client's risk profile and create a portfolio that allows him/her to sleep well at night.
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.
To make money in the next year, you have got to think in reverse. When it all boils down, there are really only two assets in the world economy.
The field of emotional finance emphasises the difference between actual and perceived risk. Perceived risk may be at its lowest when actual risk is highest...
Your client is demanding you go to cash. Was your risk assessment wrong? Not necessarily. His risk tolerance is much the same, but his risk perception has changed.
A growing chorus of (largely offshore) commentators has Australia falling into a pronounced slump. Are we on the edge of a precipice? No.
Western equity markets have been in a secular bear market since the year 2000. Are we close to or indeed at the end?
The key takeouts, and actions to take when building investor portfolios.
Seven areas where thinking outside the box may lead to different portfolio construction decisions.
Challenging a strong home bias to Australian equities in portfolios.
Are alternative investments as complex as them seem - and how can the optimal mix be implemented in portfolios?
By focusing on investors’ primary objectives (capital preservation and a reasonable return), a more efficient investment approach is possible...
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...
Different (and difficult) times call for different approaches to portfolio construction - in this thought piece, Dr Woody Brock 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, Cliff Asness shares his views on tHiNkInG oUtSiDe ThE bOx about building portfolios.
What are the implications for portfolios, of China's leadership change and the political and economic challenges in the US and Europe?
MPT is not broken, it has just been (badly) misapplied for the past 60 years. Appropriate use of MPT can lead to more efficient risk/return trade-offs...
This 2012 Conference session showed that major investment risk events occur in clusters, and focused on how to prioritise risk to achieve better investment decisions.
Managed futures strategies can aid diversification.
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...
With unprecedented political risk, debt, and economic restructuring around the world, our expert panel debated the portfolio construction implications.
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...
What does best practice asset management look like from an adviser's perspective?
The risk of using MPT - like any model - is that if poor inputs go into the model, poor results will come out...
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...
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.
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...
This Critical Issues Forum discussed the key macro-economic and geopolitical issues we cannot afford to lose sight of in constructing portfolios, before turning to the current status, key issue and outlook for global equity markets...
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.
MPT has been misapplied for the past 60 years. In this Critical Issues Forum, Michael Kitces argued that markets are not efficient, but they are adaptive - so appropriate use of MPT requires forward-looking projections. This requires more work to apply effectively, but can lead to portfolios that are more efficient and give better risk/return trade-offs.
Two retail fund analysts have been awarded scholarships by Blackrock Investment Management and PortfolioConstruction Forum to attend the prestigious CIMA Program...
The prevailing wisdom is that tensions with Iran have caused oil prices to rise recently. But there's
a much greater long-term threat shaping investment opportunities...
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?
How do we take into account the trade-off between clients’ willingness to risk running out of money in return for enjoying their retirement portfolio now?
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.
Is gold a good means of diversification? Is it a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation? Or is the last decade an anomaly?
Mssrs Henry, Murray and Tanner are successful in their fields. But none has a background in financial planning or investment management. It shows.
Key themes playing out in the market at present include the ECB's LTRO, ongoing recovery in the USA, the rise of the Eastern consumer and a secular move to e-commerce and electronic payments...
Geoff Davey has an international reputation as a risk tolerance expert. He discusses the role of risk tolerance and where regulation may be headed.
While we tend to focus on sharp market crashes, sudden declines that recover quickly within just a year or few are not necessarily problematic. What is far more destructive are extended periods of mediocre returns...
The prevailing expectation is that we’re in for a period of lower returns and significant volatility. In this exclusive interview, Michael Turner, Head of Quantitative Research & Analysis with FRM in London discusses how a CTA fund can contribute to portfolios in such an environment...
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...
For decades, long-only equities has been “king”, the dominant component of most long-term investors’ portfolios. But, the King has been overthrown in recent years, and cash has assumed the throne as investors have flocked to its supposed safety. Cash is King - but is just it a pretender to the throne? Markets Summit 2012 debated how long cash will remain King, how other asset classes will fare against it over the coming three years – and how we can do better than cash when building quality investor portfolios…
The Hot Topic Debate at the 2012 Markets Summit focused on the case for and against including gold in portfolios. Is gold a good means of portfolio diversification and protection, as well as a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation? Or is it, as those in the opposing corner argue, that the last decade is an anomaly for gold and it has no place in portfolios...
The inaugural Peter L Bernstein Memorial Lecture at the 2012 Markets Summit focused on Zombie Economics. The GFC exposed the flaws in many of the assumptions behind market liberalism - in most cases, problems were evident well before the GFC, but those who pointed them out were dismissed or ignored. These dead ideas still walk among us...
This session helped delegates determine the key takeouts from the Markets Summit, and actions to take when building investor portfolios...
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...
The outlook for the REITs vs cash, 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...
The 2012-2014 outlook for the Australian debt market, versus cash, the risks and opportunities, and portfolio construction implications...
This Big Picture Forum session at the 2012 Markets Summit saw our presenters and Inquisitors debate the outlook for the global developed market (DM) and emerging market (EM) equities markets, and the portfolio construction implications...
The 2012-2014 outlook for the global emerging market equity markets, risks and opportunities, and the portfolio construction implications...
The 2012-2014 outlook for the global emerging market equity markets, risks, opportunities, and portfolio construction implications...
This Big Picture Forum session at the 2012 Markets Summit saw our presenters and Inquisitors debate the outlook for the global economy and global debt markets, and the portfolio construction implications...
The outlook for the global debt markets relative to cash, risks and opportunities, and portfolio construction implications...
The 2012-2014 outlook for the global economy with particular emphasis on the US and Europe, key scenarios and portfolio construction implications...
Investors need to major in three subjects to get asset allocation right in 2012 - plus, they would do well to study psychology.
This subscriber-only area gives you access to the recording of the quarterly farrelly's subscriber webinar in which principal Tim Farrelly explains the thinking behind the quarterly update to the Proactive Asset Allocation tool set.