Executive Summary Private investments often play an important role in an investor’s portfolio, yet the inconsistent methodologies typically used to evaluate private investment performance and public market performance result in a lack of understanding about true relative performance. The two most common measures of investment performance—time-weighted returns (TWRs) and money-weighted returns, typically an internal rate…
The endowment model of investing is far from broken. Early adopters of the model continue to push forward, reaping impressive gains along the way. In this paper we provide a practitioner’s perspective on the endowment model, the experience of some early adopters of the strategy, and the execution of the model in the current environment.
Impact investing, through which investors allocate capital to market-based (i.e., profit-oriented) solutions to social and environmental challenges—in contrast to philanthropic or political solutions—has garnered increasing attention over the last decade.
Executive Summary Many families have significant wealth tied up in the publicly traded shares of a single firm. Concentrated exposure to a single stock—often the family’s original source of wealth—represents a significant risk to the family’s wealth and its future spending and charitable-gifting power. Single stocks, on average, are about 68% more volatile than a…
This paper describes our approach to developing input assumptions for use in mean-variance analysis. Appendices cover the weaknesses of other approaches, as well as taxable considerations.
After assessing the current environment of extremely low interest rates and its implications for defined benefit plans, we articulate our view on how to develop a flexible de-risking framework that takes into account today’s low yields. We contrast this to the more formulaic and mechanical “glide path” concept advocated by many pension industry participants. Defined…
The most recent step in the evolution of portfolio construction practices has been a shift from an asset allocation-centered process to a more comprehensive risk allocation-based process. In this paper, published February 2013, we share our views on why asset allocation has developed into risk allocation and provide an introduction to the Risk Allocation Framework.
This report provides an overview of activist investing and also addresses the role of activist funds in investor portfolios and the associated risks of the investment strategy.
This report discusses the landscape of the U.K. social investment market, with a focus on impact investing; reviews the barriers to the growth of the market and potential solutions; and outlines a decision-making framework to help investors evaluate and implement social investments within a diversified investment portfolio. While this report is focused on the social…
This short piece communicates our position on the investment implications of the standoff on the US debt ceiling.