In 1990, Towers Perrin started spruiking the modern-day investment mandate. I must admit the concept of making investment managers far more accountable seemed rather good. Unfortunately, it most likely left clients worse off.

I was amazed several years ago to learn that the class I was teching believed that 90% of a fund's returns are due to asset allocation. Having once been a major promoter of this myth, it is important I contribute to its eradication.

Until the early 1950s, investing was an art. Then, along came the publication of work undertaken by Harry Markowitz (1952). Over a 20-year period, this played the primary role in moving investing from an art to a science.

The bulk of the research on sustainable investing has concentrated on returns. These two papers look beyond that to whether investors are so committed to sustainability that they will continue to invest irrespective of returns or fees.

The most recent evolution in index investing has been a drift into the active world. Until recently, active passive investing has not been subject to much analysis. The two papers considered here begin to make some inroads.

The first of these two papers provides a comprehensive review of the several thousand papers written on ESG investing and investment performance, while the second looks at downside risk reduction.

With ever greater participation in superannuation, the accumulated sum held those entering retirement is often significant. But do older people have the cognitive ability and financial acumen to invest effectively?

These two papers relate to some interesting quirks of the finance industry. The first finds that the accuracy of currency forecasts is worse than could be achieved from random predictions. The second gives a different slant of the large increase in the size of the financial sector.

Emotions generated in the media by way of the words used in turn influence investors decisions, providing the foundation for a highly profitable investment process.

Global financial markets have been reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic since early 2020, providing a unique opportunity for researchers to examine the impact of a global pandemic on uncertainty, investor reactions, and stock prices.

High allocations to alternatives are often justified on the basis of return and diversification advantages. Two recent papers show that with private equity and hedge fund, it's the managers who are the real winners.

Many research papers address the investment performance of sustainable investing - few have investigated whether this form of investing actually achieves the intended good. Two papers address that gap.

Target date funds first became popular as a MySuper option. Leaving aside whether target date funds are a good idea in the first place, what these two papers highlight is a lack of thought in their design.

Value investing proved to be successful strategy for nearly a century, before experiencing one of its worst performance periods in the last few years. These two papers examine whether implementation or low interest rates are the culprit.

While the retirement income system is designed to accommodate all individuals, the real test is its adequacy for the poor. These two papers address this issue for both Australia and the US.

Behavioural finance supplements traditional financial and investment theory. Findings in the field of behavioural finance may help advisers, consultants and clients better manage their thoughts, feelings, and actions when investing.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the fundamentals of the portfolio review process.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the fundamentals of investment philosophies and styles.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on practical issues in setting a strategic asset allocation for a portfolio.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on principles of international investing.