Investors may have been skittish in early April, but the general trend appears to be “risk on” once again, according to Patrick Bradley, product specialist with the global fixed income team at Brandywine Global Investment Management, which manages the Renaissance Global Bond Fund.
Speaker Richard Bookstaber, author of the book A Demon of Our Own Design, focused more broadly on the nature of innovation and what it has meant for financial markets during his presentation at the 2011 Investment Innovation Conference. He looked at the role derivatives have played as a risk management tool and how their use has evolved over the past 20 years.
Financial executives believe that heightened focus on risk will increase demands on audit committees and, by extension, company CFOs over the next two years, according to a survey by the Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation.
Amidst roiling equity markets, many have said the days of the equity risk premium are over; however, according to our keynote speaker, it’s not only alive and well, but there are also new risk premia that investors must consider to capture opportunities in today’s markets.
David Rogers, partner and founder of Caledon Capital Management, says pension plans of all sizes are looking for ways to reduce the risk from continued volatility in the public markets. For those looking to diversify and replace the returns they were once able to count on from equities, alternatives make sense.
Canadian pension plan sponsors are caught in a difficult balancing act in which they must manage regulation compliance while also mitigating costs and offering a positive member experience, according to a report by Towers Watson.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) has issued a draft policy confirming that pension plans are permitted to invest in annuity buy-ins issued by a life insurance company.
U.K. plan sponsors have been on the de-risking journey for many years, with the majority of U.K. DB plans having now completed, or at least considered, some form of de-risking.
Risk is not a four-letter word; unintended risk is. Investors need to take some risk in order to achieve their goals.
Although the risks and challenges are often the same, no matter the size of the plan, the solutions are ultimately different, says Steve Eadie, a partner and pension consultant with Robertson, Eadie & Associates.