Pensions Like Their Alternatives Traded

Chidem Kurdas

No wonder so many managers want to have an initial public offering. Pensions may be more

BlackRock Readies Broad Spectrum Strategy

A former pension investment officer heads the team that will manage a wide-ranging portfolio of alternative investments. 

Credit Alpha Seen as Solution

What’s the outlook for fixed income investing? One line of wisdom has it that the future is not bright. Inflation and interest rates will go up, bond prices down. It probably is a bad time to hold an aggregate bond index.  Funds with credit expertise, however, are a different story. 

Pay-to-Play Shadows Political Donations

The New York state pension kickback case may be winding down, but its effect is expected to last. Pay-to-play investigations are low hanging fruit for prosecutors, says Christopher Coniff of law firm Ropes & Gray LLP.

Life, Death, Taxes and Insurance

Chidem Kurdas

In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes, to quote Benjamin Franklin.  As politicians scrounge for more money, it is near-certain that taxes will rise for those with high incomes.

IRA Market Growth Promising for Alternatives

Chidem Kurdas

Individual retirement accounts may not be what comes to mind when you think of hedge fund investing. But people can invest in hedge funds – or other alternatives – through IRAs, which held more than $4 trillion as of late 2009. That’s around one-fourth of total US retirement assets.

IRAs could grow to as much as $7.5 trillion over the next 10 to 15 years. When people leave their jobs, they often move employer-sponsored accounts into self-directed IRAs.  “By some estimations, the IRA marketplace is expected to crest at $7 to $7.5 trillion dollars, thanks to Baby Boomers rolling funds out of their employer-sponsored qualified plans such as 401(k)s,” says Rob Spalding of  Pensco Trust Co.