Chapter 15: Choosing an appropriate investment strategy Flashcards
What criteria should an investment objective for an institutional investor satisfy?
- Clearly stated
- Quantifiable
- Framed in terms of risk, total required return and timing of cashflows
Give 4 examples of possible investment objectives for an institutional investor
- To meet the liabilities as the fall due
- To control the incidence of future obligations to a third party (e.g. employer pension contributions)
- To provide sufficient funds to be able to demonstrate ability to meet the liabilities as they fall due (can be on statutory or realistic basis).
- To demonstrate that there are sufficient funds to meet the liabilities if discontinuance where to occur
Give three examples of how risk might be defined for an institutional investor.
- Standard deviation or volatility of return from an investment (MVPT/CAPM)
- The probability of ruin (or complete failure of an investment)
- The probability of failing to achieve the investor’s objectives
On what 3 things does the risk appetite of an institutional investor depend?
- The nature of the organization
- The CONSTRAINTS of its governing body and documentation
- Legal or statutory controls
List 15 factors that influence the long term investment strategy of an institutional investor
SOUNDER TRACTORS
Size of the assets (absolute / relative) Objectives Uncertainty of the liabilities Nature of the liabilities Diversification Existing asset portfolio Return (expected long term)
Tax treatment of the assets / investor Restrictions - statutory / legal / voluntary Accrual of liabilities in the future Currency of the existing liabilities Term of the existing liabilities Other funds' strategies (competition) Risk appetite Solvency requirements and accounting requirements
Why might an institutional investor prefer high-income yielding investments to low-income yielding investments?
The investor:
- Currently has high cash outflow requirements and wants to avoid the expense and uncertainty of realizing assets
- is not worried about reinvestment risk
- pays a higher rate of tax on capital gains than on income
When selecting individual assets for a fund, what three factors should the investor consider?
- The expected return net of tax and expenses.
- The volatility of returns
- Whether the assets selected has a low covariance with the other assets in the portfolio => diversification => reduced specific risk
Why will the investor want to maximize returns subject to constraints?
- For competitive reasons, to continue to attract new business.
- To maximize shareholder returns
- To minimize the cost of providing for the liabilities
Outline the characteristics of the liabilities of an individual
- Consist of future spending (including debt repayments)
- Mainly real, but not necessarily linked to a standard price inflation index
- Mainly dominated in the domestic currency
- Both short term and long term liabilities
- Some uncertainty in amount and / or timing
Outline the characteristics of the assets of an individual
- Consists of current wealth and future income
- Occupational income: a real asset
- Pensioners income: may be fixed in nature
- Uncertainty in relation to receipt of income
Since both the income and expenditure of individuals may be uncertain, what sort of assets should they consider holding?
Liquid assets or consider using insurance.
List 10 factors affecting the long-term investment strategy of an individual
Size of assets
Objectives - Income to live of or future growth
Uncertainty
Nature
Diversification
E -
Returns required
Tax
R -
Accumulations
Currency liabilities
Term liabilities
O -
Risk appetite
S -
- High relative expenses when investing small amounts.
- Low free assets, which constrain the ability to mismatch and take risks
- Not enough assets for direct investment in certain asset classes
- Lack of information / expertise relative to institutional investors.
List 3 factors that a retired individual needs to consider in relation to investment strategy
- Generating sufficient income to live on from their assets
- Maintaining that income in real terms
- Allowing for sufficient growth of capital
How can retired individuals generate sufficient income to live on from the assets that they own?
- Annuities
- High income yielding assets
- Periodic redemption of assets
- Periodic sale of low income yielding assets
How can the risk of a fall in the market values of an individual’s assets just before retirement be avoided?
A suitable strategy is often to switch to less volatile assets as the time of retirement approaches.
This is called LIFESTYLING