Chapter 9 - Investment Mandates, Portfolio Analytics and Client Reporting Flashcards

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1
Q

Measures to avoid Investment Chain Agency Problems

(3 Points)

A
  • alignment that time frames and structures of portfolio manager assessment and renumeration closely reflect performance experienced by clients they serve and the time frame for performance to be delivered
  • accountability where portfolio managers respond to expressed intentions of their clients and report as fully as required
  • client mandates can help for these two elements if well designed
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2
Q

Steps in Mandate Construction to avoid Investment Chain Agency Problems

(5 Points)

A
  • clarify client needs - defining the ESG investment strategy
  • fully aligning investment with clients ESG beliefs
  • developing client-relevant ESG-aware investment mandates - typically via detailed request for proposal (RFP) process
  • tailoring ESG investment approach to client expectations
  • holding managers to account via performance assessment
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3
Q

Clarifying Client Needs in Mandate Construction

(4 Points)

A

Clients should be clear about their needs and set them out in a clear statement of ESG investment beliefs.

Investment beliefs might be expressed in a statement of investment principles (SIP):
* UK’s Occupational Pension Scheme (Investment) Regulations (2005) require pension schemes to set out policies on how they consider material ESG factors in their SIP, and the extent to which they undertake stewardship
* new reporting requirements, in line with EU Shareholder Rights Directive II, will reinforce the same sort of approach

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4
Q

Aligning Investment with Client ESG Beliefs in Mandate Construction

(2 Points)

A
  • ensure that investment beliefs are reflected operationally in the fund manager’s investment approach, such as in terms of ESG integration and engagement
  • can require a clear framing of basic expectations, including such issues as appropriate ESG screening approaches
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5
Q

Developing ESG-aware Investment Mandates before Mandate Construction

(2 Points)

A
  • typically via detailed required for proposal (RFP) process with a questionnaire sent to potential managers
  • detail and challenge of these ESG questions included in the questionnaire depend on how serious asset owners take ESG
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6
Q

Tailoring ESG Approach to Client Expectations in Mandate Construction

(2 Points)

A
  • ensure client and fund manager are aligned in expectations
  • different clients have different expectations regarding ESG issues and investment approach
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7
Q

Forms of holding Managers to Account in Mandate Construction

(3 Points)

A

Through performance assessments across a broad range of issues.

Two forms:
* monitoring meetings between client and fund manager
* manager’s measurement and reporting of its ESG performance

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8
Q

Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Stewardship Checklist

(8 Points)

A

Not just for pension schemes but can be applied for all asset owners.

3 key requirements to ensure effective and meaningful stewardship strategy:
* be clear how stewardship fits into investment strategy and policy, and how it helps meet investment objectives, this includes:
1. clear and agreed understanding of trustee board and relevant organization overall mission, purpose and objectives
2. defined set of agreed investment beliefs (incl. ESG) where everyone is comfortable but also sufficiently informs and guides investment strategy and objectives
3. robust framework to decide and monitor a scheme’s investment policies (incl. ESG) and the role an engaged steward of member’s assets plays in this
4. strategy how stewardship fits into manager selection process and ongoing relationship monitoring

  • ensure that fund managers and other service providers deliver effective integration of long-term ESG factors in investment approach; pension schemes will gain clear understanding of ESG integration and stewardship approach of fund managers through due diligance and appointment process
  • work with advisers to understand level of resources available for stewardship activities, which assets are covered and what the appropriate structure is; stewardship could be carried out by in-house stewardship team or outsourced stewardship
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9
Q

McKinsey’s Article “From ‘Why’ to ‘Why Not’”

(10 Points)

A

From October 2017.

2 fundamental questions that asset owners need to ask when developing their ESG investment philosophy:
~ Are ESG factors more important for risk management or value creation?
* strategy for risk management:
1. exclusion
2. engagement

  • strategy for value creation:
    1. overweight portfolio with companies/sectors with strong ESG performance

~ What ESG factors are material?
* selection of material factors is often influenced by exposure to asset classes, geographies and specific companies; e.g. governance factors tend to be especially important for private equity investments

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10
Q

Actions for Pension Funds with concerns about Climate Change

(3 Points)

A
  • fund might establish multiple madates investing in new technologies, including renewable energy generation
  • fund’s mainstream equity and debt mandates may include screens that exclude fossil fuel investments
  • fund may require that any sovereign bond mandate include an active ESG overlay that seeks to limit exposure in countries where the physical impacts of climate change are likely to be most acute
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11
Q

Foundation Investment Portfolio with concerns about Human Right Abuses

(2 Points)

A
  • apply a screen approach across portfolios requiring the exclusion of any investment facing significant allegations
  • screen out exposures to certain countries where human rights abuses are perceived to be a frequent occurence or where human rights standards are deteriorating at a rapid rate
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12
Q

McKinsey’s Framework for ESG Considerations in Investment

(11 Points)

A

Investment Mandate (What?)
* consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, including prioritization
* targets

Investment Beliefs and Strategy (Why?)
* rationale for ESG intergration
* material ESG factors

Investment Operations Enablers (How?)
* tools and processes:
1. negative screening
2. positive screening
3. proactive engagement

  • resources and organizations:
    1. ESG expertise and capabilities
    2. integration with investment teams
    3. collaboration and partnerships
  • performance management:
    1. review of external managers (screening and follow-up)
    2. follow-up on internal managers (including incentives)
  • public reporting:
    1. accountability
    2. transparency
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13
Q

ESG Challenges for Investment Strategies

(2 Points)

A
  • lack of ESG data within their scope
  • relative scarcity of methodologies and best practices to apply ESG integration in an asset class
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14
Q

Multi-Strategy Investment Firm with Fundamental & Quantitative ESG

(2 Points)

A
  • active ownership activities (e.g. engagement) more relevant to concentrated fundamental strategies, than diverse quantitative portfolios
  • application of ESG strategies to certain asset classes (e.g. commodities; money market funds) in its early childhood stage
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15
Q

ESG Policy addresses how Portfolio Manager…

(6 Points)

A
  • addresses ESG issues at portfolio reviews
  • establishes the rationale and methodology for ESG portfolio-level assessment
  • assesses exposure to ESG risk within the risk management function
  • determines ESG impacts to the portfolio
  • responds in the investment decision-making process to ESG implications
  • discloses ESG exposure to the fund’s investors
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16
Q

Portfolio Manager’s Annual Report ESG Information

(4 Points)

A
  • ESG activities across the portfolio
  • frequency of engagement
  • highlighted activities and their outcomes
  • portfolios with private/unlisted security exposure may report portfolio performance against KPIs
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17
Q

ICGN Model Contract between Asset Owners and Managers

(6 Points)

A

Provides framework and best practices for ESG-aware investment mandates around:
* monitoring and use of ESG factors
* integration of ESG factors into investment decision making
* adherence to good practices around stewardship
* voting and reporting requirements

Intended standards will most effectively be delivered where managers are made accountable on a regular basis.

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18
Q

PRI Report “How Asset Owners Can Drive Responsible Investment”

(7 Points)

A

PRI Report from 2016.

Investment Mandates should require investment managers to do the following:
* implement the asset owner’s investment beliefs and relevant investment policies
* invest in a manner consistent with asset owner’s time horizon, understanding key risks that must be managed to achieve asset owner’s portfolio goals
* implement effective stewardship processes, including engagement on ESG issues and voting
* engage constructively and proactively with policymakers on responsible investment and ESG related issues, aligned with asset owner’s policies
* report on the actions taken and outcomes achieved

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19
Q

Different Ways to integrate ESG Issues

(5 Points)

A
  • threshold requirement before investment can be considered
  • factors that inform the valuation or provide quant basis for adjusting exposures
  • risk assessment that offers a level of confidence in the valuation
  • basis for stewardship engagement
  • combination of two or more of these methods, which is very often the case
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20
Q

Different Responsible Investment Strategies from Asset Managers

(5 Points)

A

Their investment philosophy and investment processes may fundamentally differ:
* some active investors focus on fundamental company-specific research, others emphasize quant models
* some will be more event driven, others more focused on identifying companies with long-term track record of delivering superior financial performance
* passive investment approaches need to build ESG priorities into mandate design and the way in which investment assets are selected; typically:
1. excluding certain investments (e.g. fossil fuel sector or carbon-intensive aspects of it)
2. applying a tilt to a broader index (e.g. least carbon-intensive companies are chosen in each sector)

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21
Q

CFA Institute: ESG Investment Approaches

(6 Points)

A
  • ESG Integration: explicitly considers ESG-related factors that are material to risk and return of investment, alognside traditional financial factors
  • ESG-related Exclusions: excludes securities, issuers or companies based on certain ESG-related activities, business practices or business segments
  • Best-in-Class: aims to invest in companies and issuers that perform better than peers on one or more performance metrics related to ESG
  • ESG-related Thematic Focus: aims to invest in sectors, industries or companies that are expected to benefit from long-term macro or structural ESG-related trends
  • Impact Objective: seeks to generate positive, measurable social or environmental impact alongside financial return
  • Proxy Voting/Engagement/Stewardship: uses rights and position of ownership to influence issuers’ or companies’ activities or behaviours
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22
Q

RFP Process Checklist of ESG Approaches

(6 Points)

A
  • systematically considers financially material ESG information in investment decisions
  • tracks on ESG index and/or uses an ESG index as an investment universe
  • systematically applies ESG criteria to exclude certain investments and/or to determine if an investment is eligible for inclusion in the fund’s portfolio
  • sets allocation targets and/or constraints for fund-level ESG characteristics
  • considers ESG issues when exercising the rights and position associated with the ownership, management and overseight of the fund’s assets
  • has an explicit objective to generate positive measureable ESG outcome alongside a financial return
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23
Q

RFP (Request for Proposal) Process

(5 Points)

A
  • formalized process for fund manager selection with high level questions that sometimes include examples
  • resulting information will rarely reveal much of the substance of what’s going on
  • larger fund managers have RFP teams that deal with flow of questions and hold a bank of answers
  • clients only able to ask second- and third-level questions, which get closer to the truth, during face-to-face interviews
  • RFP process has benefit of narrowing the field to a shortlist of potential providers
24
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Passive/Index Tracking

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    trustees should consider index benchmark and any ESG tilts
  • Investment Integration:
    none or limited manager discretion in stock selection
  • Engagement:
    managers can influence on companies through engagement or voting; there is also scope for influence on market- and system-wide issues
25
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Active Equity

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    trustees could invest in ESG-oriented mandates, such as sustainable equity
  • Investment Integration:
    managers should consider financially material ESG factors, and their impact on future profitability, in company evaluation
  • Engagement:
    managers can influence on companies through engagement or voting
26
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Active Fixed Income

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    assets, such as green bonds, could be considered by trustees, but only as part of broader fixed-income mandate
  • Investment Integration:
    managers should consider ESG risks that impact credit ratings and borrowers future ability to make repayments
  • Engagement:
    possible for managers to have engagement with borrowers on material ESG risk, particularly at the time of initial issuance
27
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Real Estate

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    real estate strategies could have E and/or S objectives, and assets may be targeted to achieve these
  • Investment Integration:
    managers should consider material environmental and social risks during acquisition and development, and manage resource use during occupation
  • Engagement:
    managers can engage with tenants and local community to address potential issues and drive change
28
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Infrastructure

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    trustees can consider portfolios biased toward infrastructure that supports sustainable future
  • Investment Integration:
    managers should assess physical and societal risks arising from infrastructure assets; longetivity of investments means that systemic issues need to be considered
  • Engagement:
    managers can influence underlying companies or asset management through governance arrangements (e.g. board seats)
29
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Private Debt

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    trustees could consider mandates that target lending at certain sustainable activities
  • Investment Integration:
    managers should identify and seek mitigation of potential ESG risks during due diligence on loans
  • Engagement:
    managers should have ongoing dialogue with borrowers to ensure that emerging and identified ESG risks are managed
30
Q

Incorporating ESG Factors for Private Equity

(3 Points)

A
  • Mandate Choice:
    trustees can assess which companies the manager may target and the potential for unwanted or desired ESG exposure to arise
  • Investment Integration:
    longevity of investment means that systemic risks need to be considered; managers should assess potential ESG risks during due diligence and ongoing ownership
  • Engagement:
    managers are expected to have high level of influence over company management and ensure that governance structures are effective
31
Q

“Engaging the Engagers” Report from PLSA and Investor Forum

(4 Points)

A
  • appointment process of new asset manager offers key opportunity to align managers approach to stewardship, engagement and voting with the schemes own views
  • statement of expectations, with regard to stewardship, should form part of contractual relationship with the asset manager
  • due diligance process includes assessment whether asset manager can fulfil the expectations
  • provides series of potential questions as part of due diligance process to assess asset managers before appointment
32
Q

“Engaging the Engagers” Report Questions to Asset Managers

(14 Points)

A

Targets to understand how manager sees stewardship and engagement and what his main drivers for action are; including how consistently that philosophy is applied across all asset classes and geographies:
* How long-term is fund management firm’s investment mindset?
Is it reflected in portfolio exposures, turnover and approach to engagement?
How do approaches vary across different teams and portfolios?
* How does manager decide on resources given to stewardship?
How is resouce shared across firm’s portfolios, asset classes and geographies?
What plans are there for changing the resourcing of stewardship?
* Which portfolios and asset classes need to improve its approach to stewardship and engagement?
What is being done to bring those up to the standards in the wider organisation?

Targets to seek confidence in process how manager sets objectives and monitors progress:
* What systems does fund manager have in place to capture engagement objectives and how to measure their progress?
* What do those systems reveal about nature and effectiveness of engagement between different asset classes, portfolios or geographies?
* If different teams have exposure to the same company or asset, how does the firm seek a concerted approach to stewardship and engagement?
How does it use different perspectives and understandings from those different teams?

Targets to understand how manager allocates it engagement efforts between different forms of engagement:
* What form of engagement takes the majority of manager’s engagement resource?
Why?
* Are different forms of engagement more relevant in different asset classes, portfolios or geographies?
Explain how.
* What is the process to escalate an engagement?
What range of escalation tools are available?
* How does the application of escalation vary between different asset classes, portfolios or geographies?
Are these differences appropriate?

33
Q

Investment Integration Key Questions

(3 Points)

A

Client’s key questions around investment decision-making process, which manager should demonstrate as being robust and can replicate over time:
* through analysis of formal process and how ESG-factors are integrated
* discussion of the process as it has been applied to individual assets, including how questionable ESG assets might be included in the portfolio

34
Q

2 Asset Owner Investment Integration Preferences

(2 Points)

A
  • some clients might be more interested in investing with a quant-fund manager running a smart beta product
  • others might prefer fundamental stock-picking fund manager with a concentrated portfolio of companies
35
Q

Asset Owner “Engagement and Voting” Questions

(11 Points)

A

How does Stewardship work?
* outsourced - delivered by specialist stewardship team
* as portfolio managers task
* how do this two individuals successfully work together?

How significant are the resources assigned to Stewardship?
* understand how manager prioritizes engagements and how they are reflected in manager’s program of activity
* client should ask how manager ensures that the use of resources is most efficient

How Manager approaches Proxy Voting and how it’s aligned with Asset Owner?
* how does the fund manager vote in general?
* by what process does the manager reach its decisions?
* how did the manager vote on specific controversial matters in the past?

36
Q

Voting Outsourcing and their Service

(3 Points)

A

Done by almost all investors.
Proxy advisors provide:
* a voting platform and the pipework
* advice on how to vote

37
Q

Assessing Quality of Engagement and Voting

(3 Points)

A
  • client should always ask how fund managers ensure that the use of resources is most efficient
  • voting gets more attention during client assessments as datapoints on voting are clearer
  • assessing engagement is harder due to its long-term nature and difficulty to demonstrate its effectiveness over a relatively short period of time
38
Q

ESG Drivers for Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Scheme

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    10 - 70 years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    fiduciary duty due to strict regulations for pension schemes
  • Risk Mindset:
    higher risk tolerance due to long-term perspective
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    ESG Integration
39
Q

ESG Drivers for Defined Contribution (DC) Pension Scheme

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    10 - 70 years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    fiduciary duty, beneficiaries perspectives
  • Risk Mindset:
    higher risk tolerance due to long-term perspective, but if beneficiaries are allowed to switch providers the risk increases
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    ESG Integration, Exclusions
40
Q

ESG Drivers for General Insurers

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    1 - 2 years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    financial impact of climate change
  • Risk Mindset:
    risk of loss aversion
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    ESG Integration
41
Q

ESG Drivers for Life Insurer

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    10 - 50 years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    implications due to long-term investment time horizon
  • Risk Mindset:
    high risk tolerance due to long-term perspective
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    ESG Integration
42
Q

Loss Aversion

A

A phenomenon where a real or potential loss is perceived as more severe than an equivalent gain. This fear can cripple an investor, promting them to hold onto a losing investment long after it should have been sold, or offloading a winning stock too soon.

43
Q

ESG Drivers for Sovereign Wealth Fund

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    30 - 150+ years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    reputational risk
  • Risk Mindset:
    high tolerance for illiquidity and short-term underperformance
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    ESG Engagement, Exclusions
44
Q

ESG Drivers for Foundations

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    50 - 250+ years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    reputational risk, founding or charitable aims
  • Risk Mindset:
    high tolerance for illiquidity and short-term underperformance
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    Exclusions - to ensure investment is aligned with founding or charitable aims
45
Q

ESG Drivers for Individual Investors

(4 Points)

A
  • Investment Time Horizon:
    1 - 50 years
  • Primary ESG Driver:
    personal ethics and perspectives
  • Risk Mindset:
    risk of loss aversion
  • Favored ESG Approach:
    Screened Funds, strong ESG Integration
46
Q

Interval of Fund Manager’s Performance Discussion

(3 Points)

A
  • typically conducted annually once appointed
  • if financial or other performance gives rise to concern - client may insist on more frequent dialogue
  • if client choose to “send a message” that they only care about long-term they may opt to wait longer for such discussion
47
Q

Issues that give concern on alignment with Fund Manager

(6 Points)

A

Brunel Asset Management Accord provides a list of issues:
* persistent failure to adhere to Brunel’s investment principles and the spirit of the Accord
* change in investment style, or investments that don’t fit into expected style
* lack of understanding of reasons for underperformance; reluctance to learn lessons from mistakes; smugness after good performance should also be avoided
* failure to follow investment restrictions or manager risk appropriately, including taking too little risk
* instability in organization or loss of key personnel

48
Q

ICGN Model Mandate: Early Reporting Suggestions for Fund Managers

(7 Points)

A

ICGN Model Mandate suggest Fund Managers to report early for the following cases:
* turnover in the portfolio for reporting period and explanation if turnover is outside the expected turnover range for that period
* changes to governance, ownership or structure of the manager, or in its investment approach or risk appetite
* regulatory investigation or legal proceedings against the manager, any key staff or the fund
* changes in staff ownership in the fund or any equivalent vehicle managed by the manager or changes in staff ownership in the manager itself
* regular financial accounts of manager
* changes in or waivers of the manager’s conflicts of interest policy
* additional conflicts that have arisen over the reporting period

49
Q

Levels of ESG Reporting by Investment Managers

(3 Points)

A
  • General Discussion of current debates and themes with no clear linkage to the work of the fund manager, sometimes associated with generalized asperations or assertions
  • Concrete Discussions of the work actually done by fund managers and delivered in practice, to the shape of portfolios and change through engagement
  • New UK Stewardship Code requires more reporting, rather than just discussions about broader events
50
Q

Investment Firm annual/quarterly Report Content

(11 Points)

A

Standard Report Content:
* investment process
* themes they have worked on
* case studies on ESG investing or stewardship, or both

Investment Firms that are signatories to PRI are also required to report on:
* evaluate responsible investment progress against an industry-standard framework
* receive ongoing feedback and tools for improvement
* benchmark their performance against peers
* understand the state of the market
* strengthen internal processes and build ESG capacity
* summarize activites for staff, clients, shareholders and regulators

51
Q

PLSA Disclosure Guide

(12 Points)

A

Published in 2015 for Public Equities.

Developed by a group of Pension Schemes.

Asks for disclosure on:
* identification of ESG risk
* management and monitoring of ESG risk and opportunities, with suggested possible disclosures in respect of each

Ways to demonstrate indentification of ESG Risk and Opportunities:
* examples where and why the manager is prepared to take either stock or sector ESG risk or where it sees opportunitites
* quantitative or qualitative examples of material ESG factors identified in fundamental analysis and stock valuation
* identification of long-term ESG secular trends and themes and the extend to which they have influenced portfolio construction decisions

Ways to demonstrate management and monitoring of ESG Risk and Opportunities:
* stock level ESG analysis for top risk and performance detractors/contributors in the reporting period
* material changes to portfolio companies’ ESG performance; examples may include where the manager’s view of ESG risk and opportunity differs from market/rating agencies

52
Q

ICGN Model Mandate: ESG-specific Disclosure

(2 Points)

A
  • manager’s assessment of ESG risks that are embedded in portfolio - should include what these risks are and what manager has done to identify, monitor and manager them
  • detailed disclosure of stewardship engagement and voting activity
53
Q

Key Factors for Asset Owners on ESG Approach

(3 Points)

A

Asset Owners want to know whether ESG approach is…
* genuinely aligned with fund managers investment style
* delivered effectively in practice
* aligned with her own investment needs and beliefs

54
Q

Brunel Asset Management Accord

(7 Points)

A

Provides a list of issues that give concern on alignment with Asset Manager:
* persistent failure to adhere to Brunel’s investment principles and the spirit of the Accord
* change in investment style, or investments that don’t fit into expected style
* lack of understanding of reasons for underperformance; reluctance to learn lessons from mistakes; smugness after good performance should also be avoided
* failure to follow investment restrictions or manager risk appropriately, including taking too little risk
* instability in organization or loss of key personnel

It also emphasizes that short-term underperformance is not in itself likely to give rise to undue concern for the client.

55
Q

McKinsey’s Framework: 6 Dimensions of Investing

(6 Points)

A
  • Investment Mandate
  • Investment Beliefs and Strategy

Investment Operations Enablers:
* Tools and Processes
* Resources and Organizations
* Performance Management
* Public Reporting