Country Asset Allocation

This book demonstrates how quantitative country-level investment strategies can be successfully employed to manage money in international markets. It offers a range of state-of-the-art quantitative strategies, describing their theoretical bases, implementation details, and performance in over 70 countries between 1995 and 2015. International diversification has long been a key to stable investing. However, the increased integration and openness of global financial markets has led to rising correlations between stock market returns in particular countries, driving down the benefits of diversification and increasing the importance of country selection strategies as part of an investment process. Zaremba and Shemer explain the efficiency of quantitative investing, which captures huge amounts of data of limited scope very quickly. In the traditional approach, this data compilation is an immense undertaking, limited in scope and vulnerable to behavioral errors, but this can be overcome with the help of a new paradigm of quantitative investment at the country level. Quantitative country asset allocation can be efficiently accomplished by using wealth insights that have been generated in the academic literature, discovering many anomalies and regular patterns in asset prices. Armed with this information, investors and managers can process large amounts of data more efficiently when deciding to invest in ETFs, index funds, or futures markets.

This paper analyses the links between the investment strategies of a commodity-based SWF and the macroeconomic framework of the owner country. We examine some basic macrofinancial linkages of an SWF's strategic asset allocation (SAA) strategies with regard to the government budget, monetary policy, and exchange rate movements. Based on a simple Markowitz-model framework, which integrates the specific objectives and constraints facing an SWF and the country's specific characteristics and macroeconomic vulnerabilities (especially in relation to commodity prices and prospective defined liabilities), we derive an SAA. The asset-liability methodology that is applied in the selection of an SWF SAA also allows assessing whether (i) the SAA adequately takes into account the country-specific risks and vulnerabilities, and (ii) its objectives and macrofinancial constraints are consistent. Some analytical and practical issues in determining an SAA model are also discussed, along with key effects of a financial crisis.

Buying this book could be the smartest investment you make this season. If that sounds like a bold claim, just take a look at the list of contributors. In it you'll find the names of twenty-nine of the world's foremost experts in asset allocation. Over the course of twenty chapters, these accomplished institutional investors, academics, analysts, and traders school you in all of the hottest new portfolio management techniques now in use around the globe. Not another abstruse discourse on the theoretical pros and cons of asset allocation, Global Asset Allocation is a working, nuts-and-bolts guide for institutional investors. It outfits you with a set of versatile new tools and techniques designed to solve real-world problems and guide your portfolio management decision-making. While broad theoretical considerations are given their due, the lion's share of this book's coverage is commanded by cutting-edge technical issues such as mean variance optimization, allocating between styles of equity management, optimal fixed income portfolios, asset/liability forecasting, the critical time horizon, target asset allocation, and chaos theory. In addition to all of the traditional classes of asset allocations, Global Asset Allocation explores a number of new and emerging investment horizons. Foremost among these is "the ultimate investment frontier," international markets, to which a sizeable portion of the book (all of Part Two) is devoted. You'll find in-depth discussions of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of global asset allocation, in which various experts describe the latest global asset allocation models, optimization methods, forecasting techniques, global bond and currency management strategies, risk and return analysis in country-to-country allocation strategies, active and passive management portfolio strategies, and much more. Offering world-class strategies for managing global portfolios, Global Asset Allocation is an essential resource for corporate finance professionals, pension plan sponsors, analysts, and portfolio managers looking to expand their repertoire of financial management skills. From asset liability forecasting and target asset allocation, to critical time horizon and implementing overlay strategies, this groundbreaking new guide educates institutional investors in state-of-the-art portfolio management strategies guaranteed to minimize risk while maximizing returns. Bringing you the combined insights and expertise of twenty-nine prominent investment experts from around the world, Global Asset Allocation is a working handbook, designed to guide your portfolio management decision-making and help you to solve real-world problems. * The latest asset allocation models, optimization methods, and forecasting techniques, including passive and active portfolio strategies * Includes six major chapters on global asset allocation, including currency management and emerging market investing Traders, portfolio managers...investment professionals of every ilk: read this book, and use the versatile new strategies, tools, and techniques it describes to give your investment skills a razor-sharp, winning edge.

One of the few books on the subject, Country Risk Assessment combines the theoretical and practical tools for managing international country risk exposure. - Offers a comprehensive discussion of the specific mechanisms that apply to country risk assessment. - Discusses various techniques associated with global investment strategy. - Presents and analyses the various sources of country risk. - Provides an in depth coverage of information sources and country risk service providers. - Gives techniques for forecasting country financial crises. - Includes practical examples and case studies. - Provides a comprehensive review of all existing methods including the techniques on the cutting-edge Market Based Approaches such as KMV, CreditMetrics, CountryMetrics and CreditRisk+.

Build an agile, responsive portfolio with a new approach to global asset allocation Adaptive Asset Allocation is a no-nonsense how-to guide for dynamic portfolio management. Written by the team behind Gestaltu.com, this book walks you through a uniquely objective and unbiased investment philosophy and provides clear guidelines for execution. From foundational concepts and timing to forecasting and portfolio optimization, this book shares insightful perspective on portfolio adaptation that can improve any investment strategy. Accessible explanations of both classical and contemporary research support the methodologies presented, bolstered by the authors' own capstone case study showing the direct impact of this approach on the individual investor. Financial advisors are competing in an increasingly commoditized environment, with the added burden of two substantial bear markets in the last 15 years. This book presents a framework that addresses the major challenges both advisors and investors face, emphasizing the importance of an agile, globally-diversified portfolio. Drill down to the most important concepts in wealth management Optimize portfolio performance with careful timing of savings and withdrawals Forecast returns 80% more accurately than assuming long-term averages Adopt an investment framework for stability, growth, and maximum income An optimized portfolio must be structured in a way that allows quick response to changes in asset class risks and relationships, and the flexibility to continually adapt to market changes. To execute such an ambitious strategy, it is essential to have a strong grasp of foundational wealth management concepts, a reliable system of forecasting, and a clear understanding of the merits of individual investment methods. Adaptive Asset Allocation provides critical background information alongside a streamlined framework for improving portfolio performance.

The conventional portfolio is prone to frequent and potentially devastating losses because it is NOT balanced to different economic outcomes. In contrast, a truly balanced portfolio can help investors reduce risk and more reliably achieve their objectives. This simple fact would surprise most investors, from beginners to professionals. Investment consultant Alex Shahidi puts his 15 years of experience advising the most sophisticated investors in the world and managing multi-billion dollar portfolios to work in this important resource for investors. You will better understand why nearly every portfolio is poorly balanced and how to view the crucial asset allocation decision from a deeper, more thoughtful perspective. The concepts presented are simple, intuitive and easy to implement for every investor. Author Alex Shahidi will walk you through the logic behind the balanced portfolio framework and provide step-by-step instructions on how to build a truly balanced portfolio. No book has ever been written that discusses asset allocation in this light. Provides insights from a top-ranked investment consultant using strategies from the industry’s brightest minds Proposes a balanced asset allocation that can achieve stable returns through various economic climates Introduces sophisticated concepts in very simple terms For those who want to better manage their investment portfolio and seek a more advanced approach to building a balanced portfolio, Balanced Asset Allocation: How to Profit in Any Economic Climate provides an in-depth treatment of the topic that can be put to use immediately.