We theoretically investigate the effect of public information — such as credit ratings and securities analysts' reports — on investor welfare in the context of delegated asset management. Specifically, we ask: does more precise public information increase investor welfare by decreasing an...

For savers, the quality of an investment is measured by the efficiency with which it defers purchasing power to the future. This efficiency can in turn be measured by the real rate of return after tax (discounting for inflation) obtained on the investment.Two main factors affect the real rate of...

This paper examines the characteristics and the critical aspects of the Italian Asset management industry. It reports the results of interviews conducted with 21 mutual fund managers working in 10 of the most important Italian asset management companies.The focus is mainly on the relationship...

We describe how networks based on information theory can help measure and visualize systemic risk, enhance diversification, and help price assets. To do this, we first define a distance measure based on the mutual information between asset pairs and use this measure in the construction of...

We propose a normative strategic asset allocation model for long horizon sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) subject to a sustainable spending constraint and background risks. SWFs should have lower stock market exposure as they mature and should use the SWF to smooth business cycle shocks, rather...

Is the asset management sector a source of financial instability? This paper contributes to the debate by performing a macroprudential stress test in order to quantify systemic risks in the mutual fund sector. For this purpose we include the welldocumented flow-performance relationship as an...

The 27th SUERF Colloquium in Munich in June 2008: New Trends in Asset Management: Exploring the Implications was already topical in the Summer of 2008. The subsequent dramatic events in the Autumn of 2008 made the presentations in Munich even more relevant to investors and bankers that want to...

We analyze the implications of linking the compensation of fund managers to the return of their portfolio relative to that of a benchmark - a common solution to the agency problem in delegated portfolio management. In the presence of such relative-performance-based objectives, investors have...

The standard portfolio approach assumes that investors maximize Expected Utility functions and that the Markowitz Mean-Variance Standard Portfolio Optimization approach can be applied. Behavioral Research, however, indicates that investors' behavior with respect to risk or uncertainty is not...

These lecture notes cover old and new investment methods, regulatory and legal developments and the role of technology as a game changer in asset management. The discussion gives the same weight to the theoretical and practical aspects of asset management. The focus is on portfolio...