FALL 2009
table of contents
Points of Interest
Graders of the World,
Unite! 6
Doing Well in an
Industry Doing Good 7
Signs of the Apocalypse:
Falling Hedge Fund Fees 7
The Problems with
Whisky and Woman 8
Interrogations
Keith Ambachtsheer 12
Conscience of the Pension World
Sally Bridgeland 13
BP’s Pension Queen
Dan Fuss 14
Fixed-Income Sage
Maureen Miskovic 15
Risk Maven
Lars Rohde 16
Scandinavian Skeptic
Ruth Madoff 17
Dinner with the Doyenne
4
Cover Story
The Metamorphosis of Chinese Capital 18
China’s asset management industry is undergoing
a metamorphosis. When this butterfly emerges, the
consequences promise to be truly global, Nick Lord reports
from Hong Kong.
Features
Non-Investment Alpha: Finding Any? 27
Free advisory services and research have replaced
golf games and game tickets as the “goodies” of asset
management, reports Kip McDaniel—but just how
valuable are they?
Fearful Asymmetry: The Tiger Ages Badly 36
Singapore’s Central Provident Fund helped drive the
creation of an export powerhouse that’s the envy of East
Asia but, as a pension fund, it’s been less than stunningly
successful, writes Eric Laursen. With an aging population
and an economic slump to deal with, it now is at a
crossroads.
Placement Agents: An Unpopular View 46
Prohibition, historically, often serves only to distort markets
and move economies underground, says Kip McDaniel.
So, why are placement agents—the men and women who
act as intermediaries between investment managers and
institutional investors—being subjected to such a blunt
regulatory tool?
THE CAIA DESIGNATION:
WE DIDN'T RAISE THE BAR.
WE SHATTERED IT.
