Despite significant improvements recently to pension plan solvency levels, the start of 2018 has been a challenging one for institutional investors. Shifting monetary policies have put pressure on bond portfolios, while rising yields have started to affect the equity markets. On the equity side, the S&P/TSX composite index has gone from a high of almost […]
Investors are putting risk at the centre of their asset allocation decisions — and that’s good news. The trouble is, the risk models they’re using aren’t up to the task. So says Sebastien Page, head of global multi-asset at T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Despite shortcomings with the current models, he believes there are solutions to help investors […]
Coverage of the 2017 Risk Management Conference.
Understanding alternative risk premia
Institutional investors should anticipate next year to be one of increasing volatility.
As 2018 approaches, investors are seeing the familiar rush of reports and predictions about the economic outlook for next year. One of the latest reports comes from BlackRock Inc., which noted the effects of low volatility may persist amid a stable economic backdrop. The report, however, warned that even a small increase in volatility could scare markets as […]
The majority of global institutional investors anticipate 2018 will be a year of increasing volatility in both the bond (70 per cent) and stock (78 per cent) markets, according to Natixis Investment Managers. Its latest survey, which polled 500 institutional investors in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, found that 72 per cent of […]
Despite the political noise around the globe, underlying economies are in pretty good shape and virtually every asset class is seeing high prices, according to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s president and chief executive officer. “I’m worried that everything is expensive. That’s the main thing,” said Mark Machin, speaking at an Economic Club of Canada event […]
At an index level, equity volatility in developed markets has reached record lows in 2017. In the U.S. options market, the Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index, also known as the VIX index, has averaged slightly less than 12 per cent, compared to an average of more than 19 per cent since the financial crisis. Given the common […]
As market makers guess – speculators take their bets