Outlook 2020: Ten Investing Themes for the Coming Year

In 2019, returns were driven less by what went right than by what did not go wrong. We highlight ten themes for 2020, with a focus on key macro questions, emerging opportunities, and risks.

November 2019

Pension Schemes in Pursuit of Income, Growth, and Diversification

A universal approach to portfolio construction can help schemes achieve required return targets whilst adding additional upside from alpha generation; reduce risk through true diversification; and generate sufficient income to comfortably meet both planned and unplanned cashflow needs.

November 2019

VantagePoint: Fourth Quarter 2019

As economic growth slows, manufacturing contracts, and major central banks start to ease monetary policy anew, investors need to consider what policy options the world has left in the event this slowdown becomes a recession. In this edition of VantagePoint, we look to the 1930s for some answers, while realizing that intervening changes to the global financial system rule out an exact repeat of that period.

October 2019

With Peak Brexit Stress Seemingly Passed, Should UK Investors Boost Sterling Allocations? 

No, sterling-based investors should not change their currency hedge ratios or their allocations to sterling-denominated assets based on potential Brexit outcomes.

September 2019

Alternative Risk Premia: A Diversifying Option for Investors (Euro Edition)

Elevated equity market valuations and potentially rising bond yields suggest the return environment for traditional risk assets could be difficult. Faced with this challenge, institutional investors are seeking alternative sources of return. Alternative risk premia (ARP) strategies—which harvest well-established risk premia and market anomalies across asset classes—may fit the bill. ARP strategies have exhibited low […]

September 2019

Community Foundations: The Power of Aggregated Capital

Community foundation assets have grown steadily over the years, accumulating a mix of endowment funds and funds with more expedient spend-down expectations. With the right expertise and attention, the endowment model can be applied to these complex, dynamic assets to differentiate the foundation and deliver on its mission.

August 2019

Revving UK Pension Schemes’ Funding Engines

A number of UK defined benefit pension schemes have experienced significant funding level gains in recent years, driven by sponsor contributions, liability management exercises, and strong equity market returns. However, due to increased volatility in global equity markets, relatively high valuations in many market segments, and the late stages of the economic and credit cycles, optimising the scheme’s growth engine is more challenging than ever. This paper provides a framework for how to achieve that goal.

August 2019

Pathways to Sustainable Investing: Insights from Families and Peers

Every day, CREO and Cambridge Associates encounter wealth owners, families, and family office professionals who are starting down the path of sustainability investing. This paper details the typical path these investors take, the questions many of them face, and the way that many of them successfully develop a winning strategy that generates both returns and impact.

August 2019