Our goal with each consulting client is to help implement a sound and successful investment strategy. Our level of involvement is up to our clients.
Corporate pension and government pools impact the financial well-being of employees and citizens around the world. The fiduciary responsibility and skill required to oversee these large pools of capital well is increasing. Cambridge Associates acts as a fiduciary to these investors and provides a wide variety of investment consulting services in conjunction with their actuarial consultants.
Core Consulting Services
- Investment planning to determine asset allocation, risk tolerance, manager structure, liquidity and liability requirements, and other factors pertinent to the investment process
- Documentation of investment policies including objectives, constraints, guidelines, and measures of success
- Manager due diligence and recommendations
- Performance reporting
- Governance and organizational design
- Alternative assets program design and oversight
- Deep published research, extensive capital markets and manager databases, and a rich library of market-related exhibits
Our role as an investment consultant largely depends on a client’s portfolio complexity and the availability of talented committee members and staff. Our tailored approach to consulting work allows our clients to benefit from our extensive resources in the way that best works for them.
For clients with meaningful internal resources, we may provide limited consulting work such as governance or asset allocation reviews. For clients whose internal resources are more limited, we can provide intensive day-to-day oversight for the entire fund or the alternative assets portfolio. Our approach is always highly customized to accommodate all types of institutional structures, and the varying nature of plan funding levels, liability streams, and scale of assets.
We are proud to have helped many institutional investors achieve their investment performance targets during our 35-year history. We never lose sight of the fact that the long-term performance of pension plans, insurance pools, liability trusts, and sovereign wealth funds can have a profound impact on the entities’ financial statements and the financial well-being of underlying beneficiaries.
Advisory Services for Off-Shore Insurance Company
For a recently-formed Bermuda-based insurance company, Cambridge Associates has
advised on all investment-related matters, including asset allocation, manager selection and consideration of potential shortfalls versus liabilities, and provided performance monitoring since the company’s inception. Important considerations during early-stage work included currency risk and liquidity risk given the nature of the liabilities. As part of the consulting relationship, Cambridge Associates meets quarterly with the insurance company’s board and has ongoing discussions with the company’s actuary regarding changes in reinsurance coverage that affect net liabilities.
Medical Malpractice Insurance Company Seeking Advisory Services
For a medical malpractice captive insurance company, Cambridge Associates has been
providing advisory services for over ten years. Cambridge Associates has adapted the investment strategy to meet suitability requirements from a regulatory standpoint while advising on all investment-related matters, including asset allocation, manager selection and consideration of potential shortfalls versus liabilities, and providing performance monitoring. Cambridge Associates works with both the on- and off-shore entities for the institution and has developed an investment strategy that aims to meet or exceed the discount rate used for reserves and premiums while reducing the risk of a significant loss of capital.
Asbestos Settlement Trust Seeking Investment Planning, Execution, and Monitoring Services
For a $2 billion liquidating asbestos settlement trust with significant liabilities,
Cambridge Associates advises the trustees on all investment-related tasks, including investment planning (investment objectives, asset allocation and manager selection), cash management, and portfolio monitoring (performance measurement reports and acts as the primary liaison to investment managers). Cambridge Associates meets regularly with the trustees in addition to the trusts’ lawyers, actuaries, custodians, and investment managers.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Seeking Manager Recommendations and Reviews
For a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, Cambridge provides investment manager
recommendations and reviews on new manager ideas. These reviews draw on Cambridge's databases containing years of comments and data regarding the manager and the mandate. The comments are brought up to date through dedicated meetings with the managers. The meetings also allow us to examine the managers' ability to handle large separate account mandates which include specific restrictions. The result is an independent, highly tailored and deep analysis that forms a second opinion to complement the client's own due diligence and serves as a valuable tool for senior management.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Seeking Assistance with Investment Planning
For a newly created sovereign wealth fund seeking a comprehensive investment planning
review, Cambridge Associates has worked closely with the organization to establish investment objectives, set strategic asset allocation targets, and create an investment manager structure for traditional and alternative assets.