ESG Survey (2017)
View PDF In Callan’s 2017 ESG Survey, we found that adoption rates of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the investment decision-making process among institutional investors has leveled off. In 2017, 37% of fund sponsors incorporated ESG factors into their investment decisions, which is unchanged compared to 2016. Larger funds (greater than $20 billion in assets) […]
Expectations and Diversification
The Capital Markets Research Group conducts strategic planning projects, education sessions and general research for our clients. The Group’s discussions are often very big picture–in what should we invest, and why? These discussions are on the front end of potential changes to strategy, to plan design, to portfolio implementation, and to plan sponsors’ expectations for […]
New Feature: A Monthly Periodic Table
Monthly Table ‘Classic’ Table All Tables Callan has long used our Periodic Table of Investment Returns to highlight for clients and other institutional investors the advantages of diversification over the long haul. The table ranks asset classes by performance over various time periods, and over the years we have created specialized versions (such as equity-only, […]
What We Are Seeing: Insights From Capital Markets Research
The Capital Markets Research Group conducts strategic planning projects, education sessions, and general research for our clients. Recent discussions have been prompted by the low interest rate environment, low return expectations, and investor frustration with the seemingly high cost of diversification. Other themes we see include: Incremental risking-up of portfolios to reach for return Concerns […]
Risk Parity: A Primer
I recently wrote an article on risk parity for a CFA Institute publication on multi-asset-class strategies. This excerpt from that article covers all the basics and should put you well on the path to risk parity expertise. “Risk parity” is a term used to describe investment strategies where capital is allocated across asset classes so […]
In Context: Global Small Cap Equity
In small cap investing (U.S., international, emerging market, and global small cap) there are exploitable inefficiencies that are less available in large cap. Read on to learn more about some of the opportunities and challenges in this space. Earnings revisions: In the large cap space, companies are typically covered by many sell-side analysts that are […]
Fixed Income Observations
View Research How are investors responding to the prospect of rising rates? Here’s a look at plan sponsors’ reactions and some potential enhancements to the fixed income structure. Public funds, endowments, foundations, and Taft-Hartley plans have all steadily reduced their allocations to fixed income; the one exception, corporate funds, has been increasing fixed income exposure […]
Risky Business
Download PDF Interest rates are historically low in the U.S. and abroad. Couple this with modest growth, and fund sponsors reluctant to lower return expectations face one of the most difficult investing environments in history. To find out how difficult, our experts wondered, “What would an investor need to do to achieve a 7.5% return […]