All Cambridge Associates articles

  • Fotoware
    News

    UK pension schemes under-allocated to Chinese equities

    2021-05-05T00:00:00Z

    UK pension schemes’ allocation to China as a percentage of global equities is generally inadequate, but there is no consensus as to how big the allocation should be, according to participants at Camradata’s Investing in China roundtable.

  • News

    Guide launched to assess investment consultants’ climate competence

    2021-01-29T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group has launched a guide to help trustees in assessing their investment consultants on climate competency.

  • News

    Trustees should act now to guard against market collapse

    2019-08-30T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Trustees and sponsors of defined benefit schemes should increase their asset allocations to alternatives and hedge funds in light of high valuations and stretched yields, Cambridge Associates urges in new research.

  • News

    Transparency worries hinder flows into active quant strategies

    2018-09-17T00:00:00Z

    More than half of institutional investors are wary of using quantitative investment strategies, with a perceived lack of transparency registering at the top of investors’ concerns, according to new research.

  • Tod Trabocco
    Opinion

    How to invest in distressed debt

    2018-05-29T00:00:00Z

    As the economic cycle progresses, the prospect of the next downturn – and the likely rise in financial stress – looms larger in institutional investors’ minds, making now the time for pension funds to consider allocations to distressed debt.

  • Features

    Are diversified growth funds the place to be?

    2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: Experts remain divided over the value offered by diversified growth funds. While DGFs offer a source of return that comes with reduced risk and daily pricing, they have come in for criticism in recent years over a perceived lack of performance and value.

  • News

    Consultants commit to flagging ESG factors

    2018-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Sixteen investment consultancy firms have said that they will seek to ensure that pension schemes take into account environmental, social and governance factors where they are financially material. 

  • Joshua Featherby
    Opinion

    The best way to harness illiquidity

    2017-07-10T00:00:00Z

    Pension schemes are facing tough times. In June, the Pension Protection Fund reported that 74 per cent of defined benefit schemes were in deficit, and this situation has been exacerbated by a prolonged low interest rate environment. 

  • Himanshu Chaturvedi
    Opinion

    Where are the best opportunities for equity investment?

    2016-11-29T00:00:00Z

    The ebb and flow of equity markets has created winners and losers during the long-running equity bull market. The best opportunities are open to investors ready to take an active and contrarian approach.

  • Features

    Salvation Army derisks as charities struggle with pension deficits

    2016-08-19T00:00:00Z

    The Salvation Army has recently reduced risk in its UK defined benefit multi-employer scheme, having made efforts to tackle its pension deficit, but pension obligations are proving increasingly problematic for many charities.

  • News

    Cash flow is important but not pressing, experts say

    2016-05-17T00:00:00Z

    For the first time, the Pensions Regulator explicitly included cash flow considerations in its annual funding statement, published last week. Industry insiders welcomed the move, but said the statement has raised other equally important concerns.

  • Hani Redha
    Opinion

    Risks, costs and flavours of DGFs

    2016-04-08T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: With markets volatile and growth opportunities scarce, diversified growth funds retain their popularity by providing exposure to a wide range of assets within a single fund and dynamic management.

  • LDI roundtable
    Opinion

    LDI: Cost concerns, cash flow and skewed models

    2016-03-29T00:00:00Z

    Roundtable: Six industry experts discuss liability-driven investments - the costs, cash flow impact, European legislation and pitfalls of modelling.

  • Opinion

    How will Emir shape the way schemes use LDI?

    2016-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Roundtable: Pension schemes have been granted a transitional exemption from having to centrally clear derivatives – a rule contained in the European Market Infrastructure Regulation – but the exemption will end in August 2017. How will schemes be affected and how are they preparing? In the third part of this roundtable series, Bestrustees’ Huw Evans, HR Trustees’ Giles Payne, Aviva Investors’ Rakesh Girdharlal, KPMG’s Simeon Willis, Cambridge Associates’ Benoît Jacquemont and P-Solve Asset Solutions’ Barbara Saunders discuss what the new requirement will mean for schemes.

  • Opinion

    What about cash flow: Balancing LDI and growth assets

    2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

    Roundtable: Liability-driven investment can tie up a lot of cash. In the second part of this roundtable series, Bestrustees’ Huw Evans, HR Trustees’ Giles Payne, Aviva Investors’ Rakesh Girdharlal, KPMG’s Simeon Willis, Cambridge Associates’ Benoît Jacquemont and P-Solve Asset Solutions’ Barbara Saunders discuss if there is still room for schemes to absorb illiquidity.

  • Opinion

    Has LDI become too expensive?

    2016-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Roundtable: Derisking in an environment of low interest rates makes liability-driven investment look expensive, but is it? In the first part of this roundtable series, Bestrustees’ Huw Evans, HR Trustees’ Giles Payne, Aviva Investors’ Rakesh Girdharlal, KPMG’s Simeon Willis, Cambridge Associates’ Benoît Jacquemont and P-Solve Asset Solutions’ Barbara Saunders discuss what makes the decision to hedge so difficult.

  • Opinion

    Tough markets force funds to act smarter

    2015-10-12T00:00:00Z

    UK pension funds have been searching for ways to invest in traditional assets in non-traditional ways, moving further into the alternatives and multi-asset spaces.

  • News

    LDI: Should schemes hedge now or ride it out?

    2015-09-22T00:00:00Z

    News Analysis: Pension schemes wanting to derisk through liability-driven investment are faced with the conundrum of whether to hedge now or hope for rates to finally rise.

  • Opinion

    How can smart beta best be used in the new DC default space?

    2015-05-26T00:00:00Z

    KPMG's Simeon Willis, Towers Watson's Stephen Miles, State Street Global Advisors' Richard J Hannam, Cambridge Associates' Alex Koriath and Indexx Markets' Ronan Kearney, debate the popularity of smart beta among UK institutional investors in the third of a four-part roundtable.

  • Opinion

    What is a suitable time period for assessing a strategy’s success?

    2015-05-26T00:00:00Z

    KPMG's Simeon Willis, Towers Watson's Stephen Miles, State Street Global Advisors' Richard J Hannam, Cambridge Associates' Alex Koriath and Indexx Markets' Ronan Kearney, debate the popularity of smart beta among UK institutional investors in the last of a four-part roundtable.