Seeking to deliver better returns that most domestic securities offer, asset management has changed for endowments and foundations along with defined contribution plans and necessitated increasing allocations to alternative investments. The change in the landscape appears to be the norm, making hard-to-value assets difficult to manage within due diligence processes.
Because many organizations would find valuating their alternative investments cost prohibitive, many enlist the expertise of investment managers, consultants and others to assist them.
Find out more from Pensions & Investments and post a comment to share your thoughts.
Anne Acosta is the Senior Product Marketing Manager for Advent’s alternatives platform in Asia-Pacific markets as well as Advent’s Tamale RMS in North America. Ms. Acosta joined Advent in 2004, holding roles in product management, competitive intelligence and product marketing.
The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has introduced a bill that would require thousands of SEC-registered and state-registered RIAs to belong to a new national investment adviser association. Not surprisingly, the proposal is provoking controversy.
That’s because, according to industry groups like the Investment Adviser Association (IAA), the so-called Bachus bill would cost a lot, create an unneeded layer of regulation, and adversely affect small businesses.
Want to learn more? The folks at the IAA have put together some resources to shed light on the matter. Click these links for more information and to express your opinion to Congress. And remember, you can also post a comment here to voice your thoughts.
The assumption that institutional investors invest in alternative assets via hedge funds of funds is no longer valid. As institutional investors gain confidence as they grow in their learning curve of alternative investments, many now choose to invest directly or utilize a hybrid approach via customized, separate account and commingled fund vehicles.
Why? To reach a respectable return, organizations need to be agile and more diversified, including investing in alternative assets. Hedge funds have also made efforts to improve transparency and to offer more appealing investment terms, thus creating a more welcoming direct investment opportunity for institutional investors.
Find out more from Pensions & Investments and post a comment to share your thoughts.
Anne Acosta is the Senior Product Marketing Manager for Advent’s alternatives platform in Asia-Pacific markets as well as Advent’s Tamale RMS in North America. Ms. Acosta joined Advent in 2004, holding roles in product management, competitive intelligence and product marketing.
Not long ago, the NASDAQ was the undisputed leader in listing tech stocks. Then the New York Stock Exchange entered the fray, courting and winning the likes of LinkedIn, Pandora, and Yelp.
But now that Facebook has chosen to list its shares on the NASDAQ, some observers are wondering if those NYSE victories were just a fluke. Facebook’s public offering next month will reportedly be the NASDAQ’s biggest yet.
Read all about it, including the pros and cons of listing on the NASDAQ vs. the NYSE, in DealBook, then post a comment to let us know what you think.
Knowing what to charge for advisory services is as easy as calculating 1% of the assets managed, right?
It’s not. Advisors’ pricing structures are changing. Many are declining. What’s more, competitive pricing information is getting more and more transparent, as Morningstar has announced plans to provide advisor fee and commission data in its Advisor Workstation platform. While such data can help advisors establish appropriate fee structures, some advisors are concerned it will lead to a “Walmarting” or overall discounting of fees.
Read more about it in Investment News, then post a comment to let us know what you think.
Plans for three additional options exchanges have been announced, bringing the total number of U.S. options exchanges to twelve. That’s twice as many as operated just five years ago—and not surprisingly, there’s a controversy.
The exchange operators behind the expansion say it will help them accommodate differentiated allocation structures and pricing, which will improve the overall quality of the market. But many brokers feel the additional exchanges are unnecessary. They’re also concerned about technology and compliance costs.
For the whole story, check out Traders Magazine, then post a comment to voice your opinion.
You’ve been hearing about it. Now it’s here. FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, takes effect this year, and people are starting to react.
Because FATCA requires individuals and institutions to provide extensive disclosures about overseas investments—with stiff penalties for infractions—advisers are scrutinizing their client’s holdings. Some are suggesting a move from overseas holdings to domestic ones, and at least one investor wants to give up his green card and return to Europe.
For more information on FATCA and ideas for alternatives to offshore investments, read the Wall Street Journal, then post a comment to share your thoughts.
When it comes to architecting regulation change, Europe could learn a few lessons from the U.S. So say market participants who are appalled at troublesome MiFID II proposals that point to a lack of understanding of the financial markets.
Citing the example of how the SEC tested a pilot plan for dealing with “flash crashes” but later implemented a different approach based on industry feedback, observers want European regulators to acknowledge and correct the errors in MiFID II.
Get the details from The Trade News, then let us know what you think by posting a comment.
Yes, according to some industry consultants. Derivatives and other hedging strategies can be good alternatives to bonds for U.S. corporate pension funds that are facing volatility, interest rate and market movement, and a shrinking fixed-income market.
Sources say a low bond supply—the result of long-term bonds getting bought up by megaplans and the Federal Reserve—doesn’t necessarily prevent sponsors from reducing risk, because sponsors can increase bond duration synthetically with derivatives such as interest rate swaps, Treasury strips, and futures.
Find out more, including who profits most in this scenario, from aiCIO, then post a comment to share your thoughts.
PIMCO’s Total Return Fund, the world’s largest mutual fund, has a new baby brother: the PIMCO Total Return ETF, an exchange-traded fund that uses the same active management style as the open-ended fund, but with some variation.
That’s got other companies thinking about how to compete. Should they jump on the bandwagon and create ETFs? With so many billions flooding into that sector, it may prove too hard to resist. On the other hand, there are still advantages to offering open-ended funds.
Read more about it in Financial Planning, then post a comment to let us know what you think.
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