What's the Optimal Size of Hedge Funds?
Under the current fee structure, the optimal size for hedge fund performance differs substantially from the optimal size for managers’ compensation, a newly released academic paper concludes.
Newsmakers
Strategic Investment Group Sells Majority Stake
Private-equity firm Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe has purchased a majority stake in institutional-investment outsourcing firm Strategic Investment Group.
MassPRIM Aims to Cut Return Target to 8%
MassPRIM's board wants to reduce its assumed rate of return from 8.25% to 8%, and the state's treasurer is championing the change at the legislative level.
Is Norway Banking on the UK Shop-a-holic?
The largest asset pool in Europe might be about to buy into the UK’s love of shopping, but is now the right time as the economy looks unsteady?
The High Price of Joining the ‘Sovereign Country Club’
Many new sovereign wealth funds are not well designed and are impinging on their home country’s economic development, a paper has argued.
Turning the Tables on 2-and-20
No longer are institutional investors willing to pay the generous fees private equity managers have traditional charged, according to a survey by financial data firm PEI.
Emails Fuel Accusations Over Treasury’s Role in Delphi Pension Termination
Internal emails from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation have emerged that could pose tricky questions for the Treasury Department over its involvement in the decision to terminate Delphi Corp.’s non-union pension plan in 2009.
CalPERS to Critics: Get Your Facts Straight
Again, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System has pushed back against media critics that have faulted the fund for its poor 2011 returns.
Wellington: Shopping, Not Sweatshops, to Drive China’s Economy
China is mid-transformation into a consumer economy, and all that shopping will drive global growth in the long term, says Wellington Management.
Moody’s Foresees Group Annuity Purchases by Five Major US Corporations
In the wake of General Motors’ $29 billion purchase of a group annuity from Prudential, Moody’s Investors Service has predicted that five other big players will follow suit.
Proposed Pension System Faces Fiscal and Political Hurdles
A proposal to create universal retirement accounts in the US could have huge effects on the investment consulting and asset management businesses—but the devil is in the details.
What Can Asset Owners Learn From Knight Cap's Blunder?
As Knight Capital fights for its survival, investors should learn from its failures to protect their future capital against illiquidity, wide market fluctuations, and ultimately losses, industry commentators say.
Deficits Up, Funding Ratios Down at Corporate Pensions
Corporate pension funds finished July with record-high deficits and record-low funding ratios, according to new data released by Mercer.
Stock Losses, Low Interest Rates Pummel New Jersey Pension as Indiana Reduces Target
Faced with a year of stock losses and record-low interest rates, New Jersey's $69.9 billion public pension system has missed its return target of 7.95% for the fiscal year as Indiana's scheme has reduced its target to the lowest among schemes nationwide.
Survey: Asset Management Firms Need a Wake-Up Call
Profit among asset management firms globally is at risk as choppy markets take a bite into profit, according to an industry analysis surveying 96 money managers worldwide.