A long-term investor seeking immediate, low-cost diversification may want to seriously consider exchange funds as a strategy, according to a paper from Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management. The paper considers the risks and benefits of exchange funds and recommends paying careful attention to the fund's issuer and structure.
Global investment in physical infrastructure has been a prime driver of growth in emerging markets, but sustained growth also requires investment in an intangible infrastructure that many emerging nations lack. Credit Suisse identifies five pillars of intangible infrastructure (education, health care, development of the financial system, technologi...
This article from Hammond Associates refutes conventional wisdom that says domestic equity indexes are more likely to outperform active managers in efficient markets, such as large-cap stocks, and more disposed to underperform active management in less efficient areas, such as small-cap stocks. The authors present an alternate theory that better ex...
After the heavy stock market losses of last fall, many regulatory agencies issued restrictions on the short selling of stocks. In this independent analysis for the Alternative Investment Management Association, researchers examine the effect of these restrictions on stock returns in six countries and find no strong evidence that the restrictions ha...
Conventional logic indicates that a down market offers value buys for investors willing to take a chance on assets that have dropped precipitously in price. But which of these assets are most likely to regain value, and how much of a portfolio is it reasonable to invest in them? Cambridge Associates examines the outcomes of the 1990 and 2001 recess...
While hedge funds greatly disappointed a number of investors in the past year, Allenbridge finds reasons not to abandon this asset class. This report explains what happened in the sector, dispels some of the misconceptions and offers pointers for hedge fund investors.
Although hedge funds have been blamed for much of this year's market volatility, they could be the vehicles to bring liquidity back to financial markets and help jump-start markets on their road to recovery. In this report, a Bank of America executive suggests that as many as one-third of hedge funds may close in early 2009, strengthening the indus...
For those investors who are well positioned and well funded, there will be substantial opportunity this year to buy distressed commercial real estate or real estate debt in the United States. Baceline Investments believes investments in secondary U.S. markets will yield many favorable opportunities when compared to investments in primary U.S. marke...
Four basic hedging techniques – long/short, covered call, buy/write indexing and index put options – represent varying levels of risk but, used appropriately, may reduce portfolio volatility and smooth overall returns. Defensive hedging, techniques designed to protect against loss, may even be well-suited for cautious or conservative investors.
Direct investment in private companies can deliver returns far exceeding those of private equity and other asset classes while also providing attractive diversification and increased control. The potential for outsize returns, however, comes with increased risk, meaning investors must carefully assess the various financial, organizational and manag...
Companies that are responsive to the changing economic, social and environmental landscape, brought about by trends related to climate change, will create opportunities (that will not come without challenges) to grow their businesses and, in turn, create wealth for their stakeholders.
New research shows flexible managers, or those who can invest in any equity category, delivered higher returns than their benchmark and higher returns than the aggregated performance of style box managers, or those who invest only in a particular equity category. The median flexible manager outperformed the benchmark by 3.2% annualized and the medi...
This handbook attempts to strip away some of the mystery around farmland and outline the key aspects of it as an asset class, its management, the key considerations for investors and, perhaps most important of all, the vital questions any good farmland investment advisor must be able to answer satisfactorily.
Emerging country returns have high volatility and low correlation. A cap-weighted indexed portfolio is concentrated; its risks are high; and long-term growth expectations are compromised. However, a mathematical model shows that investors can expect to do better with an alternative portfolio structure, one that is rebalanced to relatively equal-wei...
While it is critical to reward good performance by general partners, risks and returns should be equitably shared. Non-marketable alternative asset investors should hold frank discussions with general partners about fee arrangements, fund sizes and other activities that may dilute a proper alignment of incentives.