Insights from Strategy
The Strategy Group within J.P. Morgan partners with clients to develop objective, thoughtful solutions to the broad investment policy issues faced by corporate and public defined benefit pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations. The Strategy Group is one of J.P. Morgan’s primary centres for thought leadership for institutional clients in the areas of asset allocation, pension finance and risk management.
Solvency II for Pensions
In this paper we provide a brief summary of the Solvency II framework and consider the impact the proposed EIOPA changes may have on the UK pensions landscape.
Top Investment Questions for 2012
Rebecca Patterson, our Chief Markets Strategist, addresses several of the key challenges faced by investors in the coming year.
Twelve in 2012
With more than a dozen key elections around the world, in countries representing nearly 50% of global GDP, we discuss how politics could play an even bigger role in the markets in the year ahead.
Risky business...don’t de-risk, right risk
Paul Sweeting, European Head of the Strategy Group, takes a look a de-risking and how right risking can provide for growth while moderating unrewarded interest rate risk.
A month to remember: Lessons from the August correction
August provided a rollercoaster ride for pension plans. Although funded ratios recovered significantly by the end of the month, the sharp market moves illustrated how exposed some plans were to market movements. This paper examines the lessons that can be learned for schemes and how they can protect themselves from periods of volatility.
Strategic investment in emerging markets: the role of emerging markets in a long-term portfolio
Emerging market assets, while acknowledged as an important element of the investment
universe, have lagged in their acceptance as separate asset classes in their own
right.
In this paper, we consider their contribution to overall portfolio efficiency, looking
at the risk / return characteristics of a portfolio with an allocation towards emerging
markets.
Non-normal returns: are you underestimating the risk in your pension plan’s investments?
Many pension investors suffered more significant losses during the financial crisis than they may have expected. Research from the J.P. Morgan Asset Management shows that a reliance on traditional asset allocation frameworks may have led to a significant understatement of portfolio risk. Our research shows that accepting that asset classes do not behave in a ‘normal’ manner and correcting for this behaviour when modelling a portfolio’s expected returns will give pension plans a truer idea of their actual risk. This will allow pension plans to make more informed decisions on asset allocation.
A Global Cornucopia
Commodities are the oldest asset class known to man but perhaps one of the least understood today. However, we believe that commodities maybe the most relevant asset class for investors to consider as a refuge from extreme price movements - up or down in today's markets.
Non-normality of market returns
In this paper, the authors investigate non-normality of market returns, as well as its potential impact on portfolio efficiency and the asset allocation process.
Beyond Rebalancing
Theory suggests that routine rebalancing can help maintain a portfolio’s optimal allocation. But, in the current environment of unprecedented market turmoil and shifting dynamics, strict adherence to this practiced discipline might not be the most appropriate risk management response.
A Case for Asia
This research brief summarises our unique case for Asia ex-Japan as one of the most attractive strategic opportunities among global markets, based not on GDP alone, but on underlying productivity growth dynamics that we believe are fueling a long-term revaluation trend in the region.
J.P. Morgan Market Views
Keep up to date with the views and analysis on events across world financial markets from J.P. Morgan Asset Management's strategists Dan Morris and David Shairp.