Efficiency in An Age of Uncertainty

The turbulence and uncertainty that has confronted investors during the past 10 years has given rise to shift towards passive investing. In response, a new range of alternative and, increasingly, customised index approaches has been created to help investors address their specific concerns. The ability to tailor an index to provide specific exposures or risk/reward ratios, then passively manage to this index raises questions about the distinction between alpha and beta. Northern Trust recently engaged in research to examine more closely the practical implications for investors of the evolving use of passive investments in institutional portfolios. In particular, our research highlighted some interesting trends, including: - Investors' expectations for using passive management in the future, - The effect of increasing passive use on investment decision making, - Current concerns about achieving efficient beta, and - Opportunities for removing unwanted biases and inefficiencies in existing indexes.

Presenting

Brendan Maton

Channel

IPE Webcast Channel

Date

Jan 31 2012

Duration

00:59

Tags

turbulence, Northern, Trust, investors, investments