Mutual Funds and Institutional Investments

Mutual Funds and Institutional Investments PDF

Author: Estelle James

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: One of the biggest criticisms leveled at defined contribution individual account (IA) components of social security systems is that they are too expensive. This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of three options for constructing funded social security pillars: 1) IA's invested in the retail market with relatively open choice, 2) IA's invested in the institutional market with constrained choice among investment companies, and 3) a centralized fund without individual accounts or differentiated investments across individuals. Our questions: What is the most cost-effective way to organize a mandatory IA system, how does the cost of an efficient IA system compare with that of a single centralized fund, and are the cost differentials large enough to outweigh the other important considerations? Our answers, based on empirical evidence about mutual and institutional funds in the U.S.: The retail market (option 1) allows individual investors to benefit from scale economies in asset management, but at the cost of high marketing expenses that are needed to attract and aggregate small sums of money into large pools. In contrast, a centralized fund (option 3) can be much cheaper because it achieves scale economies without high marketing costs, but gives workers no choice and hence is subject to political manipulation and misallocation of capital. Mandatory IA systems can be structured to get the best of both worlds: to obtain scale economies in asset management without incurring high marketing costs or sacrificing worker choice. To accomplish this requires centralized collections, a modest level of investor service and constrained choice. The system of constrained choice described in this paper (option 2) is much cheaper than the retail market and only slightly more expensive than a single centralized fund. We estimate that it will cost only .14-.18% of assets annually. These large administrative cost savings imply a Pareto improvement so long as choice is not constrained too much.'

Mutual Funds as Institutional Investors

Mutual Funds as Institutional Investors PDF

Author: Robert Pozen

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons

Published: 2011-05-09

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 1118085582

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Every investor, student of finance and participant in the mutual fund industry needs to read this book The Fund Industry details how mutual funds are marketed, regulated, and invested in stocks and bonds. The book also describes the critical factors needed to choose a specific fund for your investment or retirement plan, including what to look for when reading prospectuses, shareholder reports and third party reviews. In addition, the book: Discusses the spread of mutual funds to Asia, Europe, and Latin AmericaCompares mutual funds to other investment vehicles such as hedge funds and ETFsShows.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors PDF

Author: E. Philip Davis

Publisher: MIT Press (MA)

Published: 2004-01-30

Total Pages: 556

ISBN-13: 9780262271264

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A comprehensive economic assessment of the implications of increasing institutionalized saving for the securities trading industry, the financial sector, and the economy as a whole.

Asset Management and Institutional Investors

Asset Management and Institutional Investors PDF

Author: Ignazio Basile

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-07-27

Total Pages: 469

ISBN-13: 3319327968

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This book analyses investment management policies for institutional investors. It is composed of four parts. The first one analyses the various types of institutional investors, institutions which, with different objectives, professionally manage portfolios of financial and real assets on behalf of a wide variety of individuals. This part goes on with an in-depth analysis of the economic, technical and regulatory characteristics of the different types of investment funds and of other types of asset management products, which have a high rate of substitutability with investment funds and represent their natural competitors. The second part of the book identifies and investigates the stages of the investment portfolio management. Given the importance of strategic asset allocation in explaining the ex post performance of any type of investment portfolio, this part provides an in-depth analysis of asset allocation methods, illustrating the different theoretical and operational solutions available to institutional investors. The third part describes performance assessment, its breakdown and risk control, with an in-depth examination of performance evaluation techniques, returns-based style analysis approaches, and performance attribution models. Finally, the fourth part deals with the subject of diversification into alternative asset classes, identifying the common characteristics and their possible role within the framework of investment management policies. This part analyses hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and currency overlay techniques.

ESG and Responsible Institutional Investing Around the World: A Critical Review

ESG and Responsible Institutional Investing Around the World: A Critical Review PDF

Author: Pedro Matos

Publisher: CFA Institute Research Foundation

Published: 2020-05-29

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 1944960988

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This survey examines the vibrant academic literature on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. While there is no consensus on the exact list of ESG issues, responsible investors increasingly assess stocks in their portfolios based on nonfinancial data on environmental impact (e.g., carbon emissions), social impact (e.g., employee satisfaction), and governance attributes (e.g., board structure). The objective is to reduce exposure to investments that pose greater ESG risks or to influence companies to become more sustainable. One active area of research at present involves assessing portfolio risk exposure to climate change. This literature review focuses on institutional investors, which have grown in importance such that they have now become the largest holders of shares in public companies globally. Historically, institutional investors tended to concentrate their ESG efforts mostly on corporate governance (the “G” in ESG). These efforts included seeking to eliminate provisions that restrict shareholder rights and enhance managerial power, such as staggered boards, supermajority rules, golden parachutes, and poison pills. Highlights from this section: · There is no consensus on the exact list of ESG issues and their materiality. · The ESG issue that gets the most attention from institutional investors is climate change, in particular their portfolio companies’ exposure to carbon risk and “stranded assets.” · Investors should be positioning themselves for increased regulation, with the regulatory agenda being more ambitious in the European Union than in the United States. Readers might come away from this survey skeptical about the potential for ESG investing to affect positive change. I prefer to characterize the current state of the literature as having a “healthy dose of skepticism,” with much more remaining to be explored. Here, I hope the reader comes away with a call to action. For the industry practitioner, I believe that the investment industry should strive to achieve positive societal goals. CFA Institute provides an exemplary case in its Future of Finance series (www.cfainstitute.org/research/future-finance). For the academic community, I suggest we ramp up research aimed at tackling some of the open questions around the pressing societal goals of ESG investing. I am optimistic that practitioners and academics will identify meaningful ways to better harness the power of global financial markets for addressing the pressing ESG issues facing our society.

Pioneering Portfolio Management

Pioneering Portfolio Management PDF

Author: David F. Swensen

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-01-06

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1416554033

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In the years since the now-classic Pioneering Portfolio Management was first published, the global investment landscape has changed dramatically -- but the results of David Swensen's investment strategy for the Yale University endowment have remained as impressive as ever. Year after year, Yale's portfolio has trumped the marketplace by a wide margin, and, with over $20 billion added to the endowment under his twenty-three-year tenure, Swensen has contributed more to Yale's finances than anyone ever has to any university in the country. What may have seemed like one among many success stories in the era before the Internet bubble burst emerges now as a completely unprecedented institutional investment achievement. In this fully revised and updated edition, Swensen, author of the bestselling personal finance guide Unconventional Success, describes the investment process that underpins Yale's endowment. He provides lucid and penetrating insight into the world of institutional funds management, illuminating topics ranging from asset-allocation structures to active fund management. Swensen employs an array of vivid real-world examples, many drawn from his own formidable experience, to address critical concepts such as handling risk, selecting advisors, and weathering market pitfalls. Swensen offers clear and incisive advice, especially when describing a counterintuitive path. Conventional investing too often leads to buying high and selling low. Trust is more important than flash-in-the-pan success. Expertise, fortitude, and the long view produce positive results where gimmicks and trend following do not. The original Pioneering Portfolio Management outlined a commonsense template for structuring a well-diversified equity-oriented portfolio. This new edition provides fund managers and students of the market an up-to-date guide for actively managed investment portfolios.

The Fund Industry

The Fund Industry PDF

Author: Robert Pozen

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2015-01-05

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1118929969

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A guide to how your money is managed, with foreword by Nobel laureate Robert Shiller The Fund Industry offers a comprehensive look at mutual funds and the investment management industry, for fund investors, those working in the fund industry, service providers to the industry and students of financial institutions or capital markets. Industry experts Robert Pozen and Theresa Hamacher take readers on a tour of the business of asset management. Readers will learn how to research a fund and assess whether it's right for them; then they'll go behind the scenes to see how funds are invested, sold and regulated. This updated edition expands coverage of the segments of the industry where growth is hottest, including hedge funds, liquid alternatives, ETFs and target date funds—and adds an introduction to derivatives. Mutual funds are a key component of financial planning for 96 million Americans. Nearly a quarter of U.S. household savings are invested in funds, which give individual investors affordable access to professional management. This book provides a detailed look at how firms in the industry: Invest those savings in stocks and bonds Evaluate the risks and returns of funds Distribute funds directly to consumers or through financial advisors or retirement plans Handle the complex operational and regulatory requirements of mutual funds Vote proxies at the annual meetings of public companies Expand their operations across borders Along the way, the authors describe the latest trends and discuss the biggest controversies—all in straightforward and engaging prose. The Fund Industry is the essential guide to navigating the mutual fund industry.

Institutional Money Management

Institutional Money Management PDF

Author: David M. Smith

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-10-27

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1118148762

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An informative look at institutional investment management methods and practice The policies, practices, and decisions of institutional investment managers worldwide affect the economic health of not only the institutions themselves, but of countless individual clients as well. Overall, this area of finance has great impact on the capital markets. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Institutional Money Management is an important basis of knowledge regarding both the theory and practice of this ever-evolving area of finance. Part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, this book on institutional investment management showcases contributed chapters from professional and academic experts in banking, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, and endowments. Along the way, issues covered included everything from the role of institutional investors within the financial system and the structures that have emerged and evolved to industry standards of ethical practice and investment performance presentation. Provides a detailed examination of the objectives, constraints, methods, and stakeholders for the dominant types of institutional investors Focuses on the portfolio management strategies and techniques used by institutional investors Contains contributed chapters from numerous thought-leaders in the field of finance The practice of institutional investment management presents a diverse set of challenges. But with this book as your guide, you'll gain a better understanding of how you can overcome these challenges and manage your portfolio more effectively.