Insights

VantagePoint: Third Quarter 2018

Climbing the wall of worries is getting tougher. There is room for markets to progress, but caution is required at this stage in the cycle. Markets must overcome four main forces: monetary policy tightening, US dollar strength, a China growth slowdown, and trade friction.

July 2018

Should Investors Boost Their Exposure to US Small Caps, in Light of Recent Economic Policy and Geopolitical Developments?

We don’t believe so. US small caps have benefited from cyclical tailwinds this year, including strengthening US growth and their more domestic orientation (helpful as the dollar strengthens and trade frictions increase), with small-cap earnings estimated to grow twice as fast as large-cap earnings in 2018.

July 2018

Social Equity Investing: Righting Institutional Wrongs

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.

July 2018

Should You Avoid Commitment (Facilities)?

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.

June 2018

Will the Addition of Chinese A-shares to MSCI’s Global Indexes Trigger an A-Share Rally?

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.

June 2018

Should Fixed Income Derivatives Play a Role in Liability Hedging for Pension Plans?

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.

May 2018

Policy Benchmarking: Best Practices for Private Investments

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.

May 2018

Portfolio Benchmarking: Best Practices for Private Investments

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.

May 2018