Equity markets and commodity-related assets outperformed other asset classes, while monetary policy expectations continued to negatively impact bond markets during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. This brief chart book looks at returns and other market metrics for fiscal year 2018.
We don’t believe so—even though fiscal stimulus, corporate tax cuts, international trade tensions, and US dollar strength all seem to be advantageous for US small caps relative to US large caps.
There is perhaps no better time for social equity investing. Many institutional investors have long sought to promote social equity through grant making and other philanthropic endeavors. With the field of impact investing maturing, these institutions are now increasingly seeking investment solutions to accomplish the same goal. In this paper we review the current state of social equity in the United States, highlight eight core social equity issue areas, and discuss the lessons we’ve learned in constructing portfolios with these investments. While investors need to be mindful of risks, we believe that investments can be made to promote a social equity impact agenda across the portfolio.
In short, no—their use isn’t going away any time soon. Rather than avoid them, incorporate new elements to more clearly assess the manager’s true investment skill.
No, MSCI index inclusion will not trigger a bull market in Chinese A-shares. Given the very modest initial weights and the lack of clarity on future increases, we doubt that index-driven flows will drive share prices meaningfully higher.
Yes. Since fixed income derivatives are more capital efficient and flexible than physical bonds, they can play a key role in liability hedging for many corporate and other single-employer pension plans.
This publication, based on our biennial Investment Office Organization and Governance survey of small, medium, and large endowments and foundations, offers a snapshot of responses in three key areas: investment office staffing, oversight costs, and governance.
Not in the United States. As short rates have increased and the yield curve has flattened, US T-bills offer more appeal than they have in some time.
For investors with private allocations, how one incorporates them into the policy benchmark will materially impact the portfolio’s relative performance, making the choice key to informed decision making. We review the various methodologies used and make a series of recommendations on best practices to follow. In considering the performance of private investments within the total portfolio, we anchor to a set of principles: keep it simple, don’t treat private investments differently, and make performance evaluation as meaningful as possible.
When assessing performance at the aggregate private portfolio and sub-component level, investors should take the long view. In this publication, we review how long funds take to settle into their ultimate quartile ranking and highlight our framework for benchmarking a portfolio of private investments.