Since the emergence of “Modern Portfolio Theory” and the “Capital Asset Pricing Model” in the late 1960s, institutional investors have taken a quantitatively driven approach to portfolio construction, looking to create portfolio diversification and obtain better risk-adjusted returns by balancing their asset-class exposures. This journey has seen several important advancements in thinking about how to optimally achieve desired results.
Funds that want to take the total portfolio approach first need to get the total portfolio view. To do that they not only need data – and lots of it – but a rock-solid understanding of exactly how they’re going to use it.
Future Fund taps CalPERS for new alternatives recruit
Pictured: Craig Dandurand
The Future Fund has recruited a specialist alternatives portfolio manager from CalPERS, the US$270 billion Californian public sector fund, who will move with his family from Sacramento to Melbourne in the new year for the role.
He is Craig Dandurand, who has been at America’s largest pension fund for 13 years, after a short career as an attorney. He became portfolio manager in the alternatives area at CalPERS in 2007 and has effectively run the fund’s hedge funds strategies since 2011.
In his role at the Future Fund, Dandurand will report to David George, the head of debt and alternatives. He will be working with Ben Samild, the former head of investments at LUCRF, who also resigned recently to join the Future Fund’s debt and alternatives team.
Will Hetherton, the Future Fund’s communications executive, confirmed the appointment over the weekend. He said: “We’re looking forward to Craig joining us and see him as a great addition to the team.”
The appointment was originally reported in the US last Friday. A report in the aiCIO newsletter said Dandurand holds a doctor of law from the University of California, Davis and a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Harvey Mudd College.
