Summary

A go-to resource for institutional investors and asset allocators seeking practical advice from a proven leader in the field

In The Climb to Investment Excellence: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building Exceptional Portfolios and Teams, celebrated institutional investor and asset allocator Ana Marshall draws on her 36 years’ experience in finance and investment to deliver a comprehensive and practical blueprint for a resilient and high-performing institutional portfolio, as well as a reliable roadmap for the management of its stakeholders.

You’ll discover ready-to-deploy strategies and advice that’s informed by evidence and tried and tested in the real world, helping you to build and manage your team, construct a portfolio, set your goals, select the right managers, and more.

You’ll also find:

Explorations of three themes that consistently define the careers of successful investors and asset allocators: strategy and planning, trust, and risk management
The critical factors every investor and allocator should consider before making any sort of impactful decision
Examinations of the importance of resilience in the face of bad fortune or mistakes

A can’t-miss resource for institutional investors and asset allocators, The Climb to Investment Excellence will also benefit board members tasked with overseeing their organizations’ investment objectives and performance in a volatile and ever-changing market.

Prologue

PART 1: BASE CAMP – THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Preparing for Base Camp: The must-read chapters to maximize the probability of success.

1 Identifying the Summit

Determining the Investment Objective

Institutional Constraints and Payout

Various Approaches to Policy Portfolios

Risk Tolerance

Time Horizon

2 Defining Responsibilities

Delegation of Authority

Governance

Assembling the Team

Transparency

Settling in at Base Camp: Expanding the toolbox to refine skillset and broaden the options in the face of changing conditions.

3 The Subtlety of Public Asset Classes

Public Equity

Fixed Income

Hedge Funds

4 A Closer Look at Private Markets

Role of Private Investment Classes

Illiquidity Premium

Duration of Investment Holding Period

Leverage

Traditional Fund Structures

Alternative Fund Structures

Reconciling Performance

PART 2: THE EXCITEMENT OF THE CLIMB

From Base Camp to First Camp: Asset Allocation; Developing the roadmap for the expedition.

5 Developing a Policy Portfolio

Setting Capital Market Assumptions

Constraints for Optimizer

The Cloud of Efficiency

Creating an Asset Allocation Policy

Range of Possible Outcomes

Stress Testing the Policy Portfolio

Shortcomings of Models

From First Camp to Second Camp: Portfolio Management; The art of adapting to the constantly changing landscape.

6 Portfolio Construction

Selecting Market Betas

Designing Asset Class Strategies

Concentration versus Diversified Manager Roster

Sizing of Individual Managers

Role of Re-sizing and Rebalancing

Internal Process

Exogenous Risk

7 Active Risk

Measuring Active Risk

Limits to Active Risk

Setting Expectations of Annualized Alpha

8 Hedging

Active Hedging Strategy

Volatility Management Strategy

Alternatives to Hedging

9 Liquidity Management

Illiquidity Tolerance of Institution

Unfunded Commitments

Modeling Portfolio Cash Flows

10 Secondary Sales

A Tool in Active Portfolio Management

Constructing a Portfolio for Sale

Advantages and Drawbacks

11 Benchmarks

Design Options

Benchmark Selection

Testing the Benchmarks

Making Changes to Portfolio Benchmarks

From Second Camp to Third Camp: Manager Selection; Selecting your partners for the climb, trusting your instincts, and learning when to quit with grace.

12 Manager Selection and Due Diligence

Evolution of Manager Selection

Setting the Bar

Refining the Skills of the Team

Diligence using the four Ps –people, philosophy, process, performance

Sizing the Investment

Monitoring the Portfolio

Identifying Biases

Knowing When to Quit

PART 3: THE SUMMIT IN VIEW

Reaching for the Summit: Managing Stakeholders; The most dangerous part of the climb

13 Managing the Team

Team Culture

Team Structure

Decision Making

Size and Skills of Team

Leadership

Designing an Incentive Plan that Works

14 Managing Up

Developing Trust with the Board

Transparency in Reporting

Balancing Optimism, Confidence, and Reality

Communication with the IC

15 Managing Relationships with Fellow Investors

Developing True Partnership with GPs/Managers

Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion

Epilogue

Value of Discipline, Integrity, Trust, and Resilience

Honing the Competitive Edge

Glossary

Works Cited

Index

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.