Is good old-fashioned stock picking going the way of the Polaroid camera? That was the gist of a recent debate hosted in Toronto on October 18 by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) of Canada. The resolution, “Be it resolved: security selection is dead; macro forces drive portfolio returns,” was debated by Tyler Mordy, Director of research, HAHN Investment and Andrea Horan, Portfolio manager, Aglith Capital Inc.
Coverage of the 2012 Risk Management Conference.
Commercial property thrives as residential market slows.
Emerging markets economies have been a huge force behind the growth in foreign official holdings of U.S. Treasuries. Indeed, they’ve pushed up holdings from just $400 billion in January 1994 to roughly $3 trillion in June 2010. As these burgeoning economies run big current account surpluses, those savings are then channelled into foreign exchange reserves.
Ever since Vanguard announced its decision to switch index providers, BlackRock has been fielding calls from clients about what the move means for the industry and why the firm is planning to stick with the status quo. According to Greg Walker, head of iShares institutional business at BlackRock Canada, the rival firm’s announcement has opened up an important conversation about indexes and why they matter.
Last week, Vanguard, the U.S.-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) and mutual fund giant, announced it had dropped MSCI Inc. as its equity index provider for its ETFs and has instead picked up a set of new benchmarks from FTSE Group and the University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices.
Adrian Hussey at the 2012 Risk Management Conference.
But nearly all plans still face solvency deficiency: Aon Hewitt.
How are Canadian plan sponsors managing volatility risk post-2008? Many of them are making some big moves out of stocks.
Liquidity isn’t always what it seems in the world of ETFs and misconceptions around what exactly ETF liquidity looks like could be preventing new players from growing to their full potential – so argues and some providers who believe more education is needed in the space.