During the Great Moderation, the mantra was “be long and don’t touch”. But with a wave of transformation sweeping through markets, BlackRock thinks it’s time for investors to switch things up.
The $15 billion value house Ariel Investments sees diversity as a competitive advantage at a time when “the whole conversation is being turned on its head” and active managers are under pressure to perform.
‘Once-in-a-decade’ events are becoming more and more common, but avoiding them altogether is just one way of protecting portfolios. ART is building new capabilities to absorb their impact – and come back from them even stronger.
With almost 50 per cent of its nearly $100 billion FUM now internally managed, Cbus has seen fees come down and gained more control over its ever-growing portfolio. But in hindsight it “could have pushed a bit harder”.
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund “stands out among global peers”, according to WTW, but should consider its approach to systemic risk and greater insourcing of its private markets investments, as well as establishing an overseas presence to improve access to deals and talent.
State Street’s big Challenger win will no doubt look good on the ACSA tables, but an influx of expertise will also boost its Alpha-focussed business strategy in the land down under.
The sharp fall in markets in August was a sign of things to come, according to Ruffer, but one that investors haven’t heeded, with positioning and sentiment becoming even more extreme.
Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House would undoubtedly set back sustainability efforts, but the bigger problem is that his view of geopolitics is “one that anybody who runs capital wouldn’t want him to have”, according to Anthony Scaramucci.
Family offices are set to manage more than $5.4 trillion come 2030 – but how (and where) they manage it will change, with more and more “becoming institutionalised”, adopting independent governance structures and heading overseas.
Strong performance in the Future Fund’s hedge fund portfolio helped with some of the heavy lifting on its return this year, while it continues to eye “higher and more volatile inflation” and the opportunities to generate excess returns in Japan.
