In July 2006 the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued a “Practice Aid” to guide the auditors of institutions with investments in alternative assets. This report reviews the key elements of auditing alternative investments and provides advice on steps endowments should consider in their 2007 audit, which will most likely be more difficult than…
While virtually all asset classes look expensive, the decision to hold cash (or implement a derivatives-based hedge) is more complicated than it appears.
This report on asset allocation in the current environment is the fifth in what has evolved into a series of occasional papers on the evolution of the secular bear market in equities and our thoughts on how investors can best cope with the prevailing uncertainties. While recognizing that conditions could certainly remain benign for some…
This paper examines various approaches to social investing, explores whether social investing is incompatible with fiduciary responsibility, and outlines steps necessary to develop a social investing program.
“Cleantech” provides an evolving investment opportunity that could potentially offer lower correlation to and different risk characteristics than traditional investments. This report presents an overview of the investment outlook for cleantech investing as well as analysis of market size and growth potential; performance characteristics; major risks; and implementation considerations, among other factors.
A compilation of survey responses from the April 2005 Investment Policy and Benchmarking Survey sent to endowed clients with assets over $100 million as of March 31, 2005. The survey queried institutions on their practices for (1) benchmarking their portfolios and investments across asset classes, (2) performance attribution, and (3) risk evaluation.
Benchmarks are used to measure a portfolio’s performance relative to some relevant yardstick. This report is an in-depth discussion of benchmarking objectives, compositions, and managers. It also includes a lengthy discussion of benchmarking within the different asset classes.
A detailed report on the emergence of unconventional asset allocation (UAA) products in the markets. This report discusses the philosophy, common characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of UAA. It also looks at the different methods of applying UAA and the roles it can fill in a portfolio.
In July 2006, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued a “Practice Aid” to guide the auditors of institutions with investments in alternative assets. This report is a review of the implications of the Practice Aid based on discussions with major auditing firms, careful examination of the Practice Aid, and Cambridge Associates` familiarity of…
This paper details the emergence and growth of global tactical asset allocation (GTAA) and makes a case for GTAA in the current market environment. Strategy implementation, sources of risk, and manager fees are also addressed. Exhibits include a history of tactical asset allocation, “beta” and “alpha” bets taken by GTAA managers, and contact information for…