As we took the Global Energy and Commodities Investing Forum around the country, one of the hot discussion points was total return investing and portfolio construction...

In each You Asked For It, we ask the public research houses to respond to topical portfolio construction questions of the day. This fortnight, it’s hedge funds. Are they an asset class? Should they be classified as growth investments, defensive, both or neither? Seven research houses responded…

At this week’s PortfolioConstruction Conference, HFA Chief Investment Strategist Jonathan Pain will present a compelling review of the prospects for world equity markets – in fact, he'll present twice, firstly the case for a global equities bull market, and then the contrasting case for a global equities bear market…

A common question from the many advisers who implement direct equities through model equity portfolios is how to justify putting a client into the underlying shares which may have risen steeply since the inception of the portfolio, or since its last rebalance…

Thank you for your kind comments, at the International Monetary Conference in Beijing recently, regarding the state of the investment industry and the benefits of investing in skilled managers who actively seek absolute returns through a combination of diversified strategies. I particularly appreciated your comments as follows…

What is an ETF, what are the key performance and cost differentiators compared to actively managed equity funds, and how can they be integrated into a portfolio?

In a core and satellite approach to portfolio construction, some of the benefits of including low cost, index-tracking products such as exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the “core” of a portfolio...

It may be time for investors to consider rebuilding investor exposure to Asian stock markets but they will need to make use of Asia-specific equity products to obtain the desired exposure, says Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital Investors…

Australian superannuation funds allocate more to private equity than their European counterparts, and are poised to increase their offshore private equity investment…

Distressed debt is one asset type beloved of hedge funds. There are four distinct types of distressed debt, and each carries unique risks and rewards, says Mercer Investment Consulting, warning that this event-driven style is not as homogenous as the definition indicates…

With unlisted private equity companies comprising such a major part of the economy, it makes sense that they should form part of an investment portfolio as well...

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has unveiled a significant shift in its strategic asset allocation and plans to significantly increase its allocation to alternative assets…

We asked Keith to look ahead 10 to 20 years, and explain to delegates at the recent 3rd Annual PortfolioConstruction Conference what big political, social and economic trends will impact on markets, and how they should position long-term portfolios now, for best results in the future…

We saved the best for last at the recent 3rd annual PortfolioConstruction Conference. Graham Rich, publisher of PortfolioConstruction Forum, led a panel of four investment 'gurus', as they debated and offered up their best best for 2005...

Presentations and full transcripts from the PortfolioConstruction Conference 2004 are now available...

Financial advisers should be doing more to be actively involved in placement of investments into property, according to specialist property investment research house Property Investment Research. In a recently released Market Review, PIR argues the case for property allocations to be as high as 40% in a portfolio...

Active management is proportionately more important now than it ever has been, and new and viable types of active return are emerging, argued David Brown, QIC's senior fund manager strategy at December's Portfolio Construction Forum Researchers' Roundtable. Here are images of David's presentation slides, with full notes...

Active Australian equity fund managers can and do outperform, but international managers struggle to do so, contended John Elfverson, ASX manager quantitative analysis market information at at December's Portfolio Construction Forum Researchers' Roundtable. Here are images of John's presentation slides, with full notes...

A key focus of each Portfolio Construction Forum Researchers' Roundtable program is the question & answer time where our Inquisitors grill the presenters - in this case, QIC's David Brown and ASX's John Elfverson - on the topic - in this case, active vs passive management of international equities...

I'm not sure we got an answer to the question "Should international equities be actively or passively managed?" - at the last Portfolio Construction Forum Researchers' Roundtable meeting of 2003...