Building Resilient Portfolios: Liquid Diversifiers for Today’s Institutional Challenges

What does it take to build a resilient portfolio in a world where market shocks, regulatory shifts, and geopolitical tensions are the new normal? For many institutions—such as Defined Benefit plans, Insurance organizations, Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts, and others—the challenge is twofold: achieving viable diversification and ensuring sufficient liquidity to rebalance portfolios and meet disbursement requirements. […]

October 2025

Executive Order Opens the Gates to Private Markets

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 7 directing the Department of Labor and SEC to issue guidance on the inclusion of private market assets in 401(k) plans, marking a pivotal step toward unlocking a major new source of demand for private assets and substantially accelerating the democratization of the asset class. […]

August 2025

The Pension (Re)volution: How the Hybrid Approach is Reshaping Retirement Plans

Independence Day, 1985. You just saw Back to the Future and can’t stop thinking about tomorrow—in particular, your retirement years. You imagine sitting beachside or traveling through Europe, confident that your company’s well-funded defined benefit (DB) plan will provide steady monthly income for life. But things are about to change for the generation behind you. […]

February 2025

Video Series: Private Investing

Private investments can play a valuable role in portfolios – adding differentiated sources of returns and diversifying exposure. But to unlock this value, investors need to be prepared, particular, and patient. Hear from Cambridge Associates’ private investment specialists on the valuable role these asset classes can play in a portfolio, as well as what investors […]

December 2024

A Liability Investors’ Guide to Reassessing Hedge Funds

In the years following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the appeal of hedge funds among institutional investors has diminished. This shift has been driven by legitimate concerns about high fees, a lack of transparency, and illiquidity. Yet, against this backdrop, hedge funds today offer a strategic opportunity for investors willing to navigate their complexities, with […]

July 2024

Role Models: Pensions Can Use Data to Optimize PI Allocations

Tapping private markets in search of added returns is common practice among defined benefit pensions and other institutional investors. However, many pensions still avoid private investments (PI) out of fear that long-term capital lockups could elevate liquidity risk. Some also remain alarmed by the potential consequences of the “denominator effect.” This refers to situations in […]

April 2024

Better Alternative(s): Private Investments May Improve Outcomes for Defined Contribution Plan Participants

For decades, many institutional investors with private investment (PI) exposure have generated strong long-term returns. However, defined contribution (DC) plan participants have not been able to benefit in the same way, as employers have historically been limited to investment line-ups featuring predominantly public market asset classes. Although greater flexibility is emerging, the question remains how […]

March 2024

A Changed Investment Landscape Is Providing Greater Opportunity for US Corporate Pensions

Over the past decade, executives overseeing corporate defined benefit (DB) pension plans have experienced significant regulatory reform and a full reversal of investment conditions. While rising liabilities once offset asset gains, the opposite is now true. Yet many organizations haven’t recalibrated their approach to plan management in response, leaving them exposed to unnecessary costs and […]

January 2024