The third edition of the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) Handbook, which replaces the 2006 version, reflects the updated GIPS provisions adopted in 2010 and provides updated interpretive guidance for each provision, as well as applications and selected questions and answers. In addition to providing the 2010 edition of the GIPS standards, the Handbook contains all Guidance Statements issued prior to 31 December 2012. The third edition offers the most comprehensive revisions and updates to the GIPS standards to date. The Handbook is intended for use by investment professionals worldwide who are involved in investment performance measurement and reporting.
Performance measurement and attribution are key tools in informing investment decisions and strategies. Performance measurement is the quality control of the investment decision process, enabling money managers to calculate return, understand the behaviour of a portfolio of assets, communicate with clients and determine how performance can be improved. Focusing on the practical use and calculation of performance returns rather than the academic background, Practical Portfolio Performance Measurement and Attribution provides a clear guide to the role and implications of these methods in today's financial environment, enabling readers to apply their knowledge with immediate effect. Fully updated from the first edition, this book covers key new developments such as fixed income attribution, attribution of derivative instruments and alternative investment strategies, leverage and short positions, risk-adjusted performance measures for hedge funds plus updates on presentation standards. The book covers the mathematical aspects of the topic in an accessible and practical way, making this book an essential reference for anyone involved in asset management.
This survey examines the vibrant academic literature on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. While there is no consensus on the exact list of ESG issues, responsible investors increasingly assess stocks in their portfolios based on nonfinancial data on environmental impact (e.g., carbon emissions), social impact (e.g., employee satisfaction), and governance attributes (e.g., board structure). The objective is to reduce exposure to investments that pose greater ESG risks or to influence companies to become more sustainable. One active area of research at present involves assessing portfolio risk exposure to climate change. This literature review focuses on institutional investors, which have grown in importance such that they have now become the largest holders of shares in public companies globally. Historically, institutional investors tended to concentrate their ESG efforts mostly on corporate governance (the “G” in ESG). These efforts included seeking to eliminate provisions that restrict shareholder rights and enhance managerial power, such as staggered boards, supermajority rules, golden parachutes, and poison pills. Highlights from this section: · There is no consensus on the exact list of ESG issues and their materiality. · The ESG issue that gets the most attention from institutional investors is climate change, in particular their portfolio companies’ exposure to carbon risk and “stranded assets.” · Investors should be positioning themselves for increased regulation, with the regulatory agenda being more ambitious in the European Union than in the United States. Readers might come away from this survey skeptical about the potential for ESG investing to affect positive change. I prefer to characterize the current state of the literature as having a “healthy dose of skepticism,” with much more remaining to be explored. Here, I hope the reader comes away with a call to action. For the industry practitioner, I believe that the investment industry should strive to achieve positive societal goals. CFA Institute provides an exemplary case in its Future of Finance series (www.cfainstitute.org/research/future-finance). For the academic community, I suggest we ramp up research aimed at tackling some of the open questions around the pressing societal goals of ESG investing. I am optimistic that practitioners and academics will identify meaningful ways to better harness the power of global financial markets for addressing the pressing ESG issues facing our society.
Investment Performance Measurement Over the past two decades, the importance of measuring, presenting, and evaluating investment performance results has dramatically increased. With the growth of capital market data services, the development of quantitative analytical techniques, and the widespread acceptance of Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®), this discipline has emerged as a central component of effective asset management and, thanks in part to the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) program, has become a recognized area of specialization for investment professionals. That's why Investment Performance Measurement: Evaluating and Presenting Results the second essential title in the CFA Institute Investment Perspectives series has been created. CFA Institute has a long tradition of publishing content from industry thought leaders, and now this new collection offers unparalleled guidance to those working in the rapidly evolving field of investment management. Drawing from the Research Foundation of CFA Institute, the Financial Analysts Journal, CFA Institute Conference Proceedings Quarterly, CFA Magazine, and the CIPM curriculum, this reliable resource taps into the vast store of knowledge of some of today's most prominent thought leaders from industry professionals to respected academics who have focused on investment performance evaluation for a majority of their careers. Divided into five comprehensive parts, this timely volume opens with an extensive overview of performance measurement, attribution, and appraisal. Here, you'll become familiar with everything from the algebra of time-weighted and money-weighted rates of return to the objectives and techniques of performance appraisal. After this informative introduction, Investment Performance Measurement moves on to: Provide a solid understanding of the theoretical grounds for benchmarking and the trade-offs encountered during practice in Part II: Performance Measurement Describe the different aspects of attribution analysis as well as the determinants of portfolio performance in Part III: Performance Attribution Address everything from hedge fund risks and returns to fund management changes and equity style shifts in Part IV: Performance Appraisal Recount the history and explain the provisions of the GIPS standards with attention paid to the many practical issues that arise in the course of its implementation in Part V: Global Investment Performance Standards Filled with invaluable insights from more than fifty experienced contributors, this practical guide will enhance your understanding of investment performance measurement and put you in a better position to present and evaluate results in the most effective way possible.
Just how successful is that investment? Measuring portfolio performance requires evaluation (measuring portfolio results against benchmarks) and attribution (determining individual results of the portfolio's parts), In this book, a professor and an asset manager show readers how to use theories, applications, and real data to understand these tools. Unlike others, Fischer and Wermers teach readers how to pick the theories and applications that fit their specific needs. With material inspired by the recent financial crisis, Fischer and Wermers bring new clarity to defining investment success. Gives readers the theories and the empirical tools to handle their own data Features practice problems formerly from the CFA Program curriculum.
Timeless Insights for Planning and Managing 21st-Century Warehouse Operations Despite today's just-in-time production mentality, with its efforts to eliminate warehouses and their inventory carrying costs, effective warehousing continues to play a critical bottom-line role for companies worldwide. World-Class Warehousing and Material Handling covers today's state-of-the-art tools, metrics, and methodologies for dramatically increasing the effectiveness, accuracy, and overall productivity of warehousing operations. Written by one of today's recognized logistics thought leaders, this comprehensive resource provides authoritative answers on such topics as: The seven principles of world-class warehousing Warehouse activity profiling Warehouse performance measures Warehouse automation and computerization Receiving and put away Storage and retrieval operations Picking and packing Humanizing warehouse operations World-Class Warehousing and Material Handling describes the processes and systems required for meeting the changing demands of warehousing. Filled with practices from proven to innovative, it will help all logistics professionals improve the productivity, quality, and cycle time of their existing warehouse operations. Not too long ago, effective warehousing was a relatively straightforward progression of receiving, storing, and shipping. But in today's age of e-commerce, supply chain integration, globalization, and just-in-time methodology, warehousing has become more complex than at any time in the pastnot to mention more costly. World-Class Warehousing and Material Handling breaks through the confusing array of warehouse technology, buzzwords, and third-party providers to describe the principles of warehousing required for the implementation of world-class warehousing operations. Holding up efficiency and accuracy as the keys to success in warehousing, it is the first widely published methodology for warehouse problem solving across all areas of the supply chain, providing an organized set of principles that can be used to streamline all types of warehousing operations. Case studies from Avon, Ford, Xerox, True Value Hardware, and others detail how today's most innovative logistics and supply chain managers are arriving at proven solutions to a wide variety of warehousing challenges. Topics discussed include: Warehouse activity profilingfor identifying causes of information and material flow problems and pinpointing opportunities for improvement Warehouse performance measuresfor monitoring, reporting, and benchmarking warehouse performance Storage and retrieval system selectionfor improving storage density, handling productivity, and trade-offs in required capital investment Order picking strategiesfor improving the productivity and accuracy of order fulfillment Computerizing warehousing operationsfor profiling activity, monitoring performance, and simplifying operations World-Class Warehousing and Material Handling integrates global and e-commerce issues as it addresses customization, information technology, performance analysis, expansion and contraction planning, and the overall role of the warehouse in logistics management and the supply chain. Filled with proven operational solutions, it will guide managers as they develop a warehouse master plan, one designed to minimize the effects of supply chain inefficiencies as it improves logistics accuracy and inventory managementand reduces overall warehousing expense.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has grown in presence in asset management and has revolutionized the sector in many ways. It has improved portfolio management, trading, and risk management practices by increasing efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. In particular, AI techniques help construct portfolios based on more accurate risk and return forecasts and more complex constraints. Trading algorithms use AI to devise novel trading signals and execute trades with lower transaction costs. AI also improves risk modeling and forecasting by generating insights from new data sources. Finally, robo-advisors owe a large part of their success to AI techniques. Yet the use of AI can also create new risks and challenges, such as those resulting from model opacity, complexity, and reliance on data integrity.
Standard ASCE/SEI/SFPE 29-05 provides the most current and proven methods for calculating the fire resistance of selected structural members and barrier assemblies.
Alternative Investments: A Primer for Investment Professionals provides an overview of alternative investments for institutional asset allocators and other overseers of portfolios containing both traditional and alternative assets. It is designed for those with substantial experience regarding traditional investments in stocks and bonds but limited familiarity regarding alternative assets, alternative strategies, and alternative portfolio management. The primer categorizes alternative assets into four groups: hedge funds, real assets, private equity, and structured products/derivatives. Real assets include vacant land, farmland, timber, infrastructure, intellectual property, commodities, and private real estate. For each group, the primer provides essential information about the characteristics, challenges, and purposes of these institutional-quality alternative assets in the context of a well-diversified institutional portfolio. Other topics addressed by this primer include tail risk, due diligence of the investment process and operations, measurement and management of risks and returns, setting return expectations, and portfolio construction. The primer concludes with a chapter on the case for investing in alternatives.
