Global Investment Matters - 2010

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The global financial crisis has revealed an investment industry more prone to significant financial distress than anticipated. While the world’s economy seems to be on a more even keel for now, institutional investors recognise the need to be better prepared for more frequent shocks in future. In this publication our Global Investment Committee discusses some of the issues that investors now face.

With increasing numbers of workers relying on defined contribution (DC) plans for their retirement income, we consider what lessons DC funds can learn from the crisis, as well as looking at how defined benefit schemes are moving towards their endgame.

While sustainable investing has not yet reached the top of the agenda for many institutional investors it is gaining ground and we explore what it actually means and how it can be implemented. These are just a few of the topics that we cover in this issue of Global Investment Matters.

Contents

• Introduction
  by Carl Hess, global head of investment
• Global News
  Our local investment teams review what has been happening around the world and the outlook for 2010
• Round The Table With Our Global Investment Committee
  Robert Brown, chairman of the Global Investment Committee, challenges his colleagues on the issues that funds are facing
• Sustainable Investing For an Ageing Planet
  What does sustainable investing really mean and how can funds benefit from such an approach?
• The Endgame for Defined Benefit Schemes
  Looking at settlement and the longevity market
• Defined Contribution: Lessons After The Crisis
  What can funds learn from the experiences of US and Australian DC plans?
• Solvency II: Pension Funds Challenged by New Insurance Regulation
  Do pension scheme fiduciaries need to worry about the new Solvency II regulation?
• The 8-Step Programme: How Companies Can Avoid Pension Plan Purgatory
  What can companies do to reduce the impact of problems in their pension funds?
• To Fire or Not to Fire, That is The Question
  When is firing your asset manager the right response?
• Widening The Market Opportunity Set
  Exploring some new opportunities that add diversity to an investment portfolio
• Asset Class Round-up
  Looking at what has been happening in the main asset classes