What exactly does an Actuary do?

This is a common question I get asked all the time. So when the Pacific Business and Law Institute invited me to answer that question for a group of Trustees and Administrators this past week, …

Investment Manager Skill vs. Luck

Below is a link to a classic article on investment manager skill and luck from our colleague Harry Satanove. The article, titled Managing Money and Tossing Coins, was originally published in the Benefits and Pensions …

SHARE Proxy Voting Survey

Equity investment managers don’t just represent the interests of their clients by buying and selling stocks.  They also represent their interests through proxy voting; voting on Boards of Directors and resolutions related to how the …

Annuity Purchases for Pension Plans

The current economic environment is particularly challenging for defined benefit pension plans. Many plans have to fund according to the solvency test, using asset market values and long-term bond rates to discount liabilities. The current …

Accounting Matters – Old Age Security

When Old Age Security was changed in the Federal budget last year some people asked me whether the cuts were necessary.  That is a difficult question because almost all government spending decisions are choices rather …

The Impact of Aging on Investment Returns

I originally wrote this article in May 2011.  I think that it remains relevant today: feel free to disagree (or agree) in the comments below. Suppose you were told that you would live to 120.  …

Socially Responsible Consulting

Pension plans, benefit plans, foundations and endowments are well aware of Responsible Investing (RI).  RI is an investment strategy that integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in addition to financial factors, and its acceptance …

See the Forest For the Trees.

Successful institutional investors think beyond asset class-specific decisions and think in terms of the overall portfolio. They see the forest for the trees. Institutional investors don’t invest in one silo or asset class.  Instead, they …