Callan Survey: ESG Here to Stay in the U.S.
View the Survey Institutional investors have been grappling for years with the issue of quantifying non-financial investment considerations and applying them to an investment decision-making framework. This is true for defining environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, but despite the challenges investors are persisting in finding novel solutions. And as research, data, and resources become […]
Tips for Emerging and Diverse Managers
We work regularly with diverse and emerging investment managers, including through our Callan Connects program, which we established in 2010 to help managers foster better outcomes for institutional investors and their participants/beneficiaries. To further educate this community, and to encourage the robust dialogue between asset managers, institutional investors, and consultants that we believe is a benefit to all […]
Have We Learned the Lessons of the GFC About Liquidity?
After a 10-year bull market in equities, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) may seem like a distant memory. Yet the financial lessons of those times should be branded into our memory as fiduciaries. As financial markets collapsed, the lack of liquidity across all asset classes had serious consequences and limited the ability of institutional investors […]
The OCIO Model: How Do We Measure Success?
Angel’s Paper The outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) industry has grown significantly over the last 10 years. Low barriers to entry have contributed to a proliferation of providers in this space, from boutique firms to larger investment management and investment consulting organizations. Given this growth, institutional investors will need to be prudent in evaluating the […]
The Importance of Defining Fundamental Investment Beliefs
In Callan’s 46 years as an institutional consulting firm, we have advised the fiduciaries and staffs of many hundreds of funds on their investment strategies and policies. We believe that the primary objective of these investment reviews is to develop a consensus on the fundamental investment beliefs of the fiduciaries driving the process. These beliefs […]
How to Build an Effective Transition Management Pool
View PDF Transition management is the cost-effective and efficient restructuring of institutional portfolios from single or multiple investment managers/asset classes to a new allocation over a short-term horizon, with risk management at the core of the process. Transition managers are the discretionary caretakers of the transition event, employing expertise in the fields of project management, […]
ESG Mythbusters: The DC Plan Summer Blockbuster?
Growing interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is apparent across the institutional investment industry. ESG has also captured the attention of policy makers; for instance, the White House, the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance, the Labor Department, and the SEC have all addressed ESG in the past year. And we can read […]
The Essential Elements of Culture
View Ron’s Paper As Callan’s executive chairman, Ron meets regularly with fellow employees and industry leaders to discuss issues of broad concern to institutional investors. In this blog post, drawn from his recent paper “Nurturing Strong Cultures at Professional Firms,” Ron outlines a set of principles for creating and maintaining an effective corporate culture. What It […]
A Primer on the Role of Custodians
A custodian is a specialized financial institution (typically, a regulated entity with granted authority like a bank) that holds customers’ securities for safekeeping in order to minimize the risk of their misappropriation, misuse, theft, and/or loss. A custodian has three primary responsibilities: Safekeeping of Assets: maintaining proper indicia of ownership, valuation, accounting, and reporting of assets […]
The Cobbler’s Shoes
Callan analyzed 401(k) plans sponsored by investment managers to identify trends of value to the defined contribution (DC) plan industry