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 […]
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 […]
How Can an Organization Achieve Gender Diversity?
View PDF In a recent white paper I addressed the problem of gender diversity in the investment management industry. I reviewed the industry’s track record on the inclusion of women, explored why diversity is important, and outlined why many firms have found it so difficult to add women to their workforce. You can find my […]
Our Manager Search Process
I’m always struck by the number of media articles with titles such as, “How to get into consultant XYZ’s search process.” While it is certainly necessary to know how each consultant operates, a consultant’s search process should ultimately be able to objectively identify the best candidates for each mandate regardless of size, ownership structure, or […]
On Charitable Giving
It’s been said that 80% of life is just showing up. While real life is certainly more complicated than that, showing up is actually what charitable organizations value most. Showing up demonstrates that you care about what the institution has done for others—or for you. Showing up can mean volunteering, advocating, or making a small […]
Thoughts on Relevance
Staying competitive in our industry is critical for all of us, but it is becoming more challenging. We are all well aware of the many issues our industry faces. However, from my perspective as a 40+ year industry veteran, it is amazing just how resilient and successful our industry has always been. Why is our […]
Celebrating 30 Years of the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)
A look back at the history of the CFA Institute Performance Presentation Standards: an industry game changer. Manager performance composites weren’t always a useful tool to assess historical manager performance. Prior to the mid-1980s, reporting on and assessing investment performance was the “Wild West” for fund sponsors and consultants. Many managers were merely putting their […]
More than Words: The Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct
The perception and validation of ethical standards in investment professionals builds client trust in an advisor and strengthens the resolve to stay the course when the advisor’s strategy is out of favor. If you think about it, the fundamental conclusion for all manager research is the development of trust in the people, philosophy, processes, and […]
Ethical Mindfulness
Download PDF Studies show that the key to ethical behavior is to keep promoting, discussing, and practicing ethical principles. Here, we present eight important points on ethics: Implementing high ethical standards in the investment industry is not only the right thing to do, but also the best way to build a sustainable business. Ethically minded […]