Abstract
Increasing numbers of nations are facing a new challenge in managing significant accumulations of national wealth. The amount of external reserves accumulated by many countries exceeds that which even conservative central bank managers deem necessary to effect desired monetary and foreign exchange policies. According to an IMF survey in April 2008, sovereign wealth funds are projected to grow from $2–3 trillion in assets today to over $6 trillion in 2013. There is an increasing consensus that the appropriate investment policy for such excess assets, which are commonly regarded as having the luxury of a longer-term investment focus, is one that is less conservative than the traditional strategies for central bank reserves. The emphasis has shifted from a singular focus on safety and liquidity toward the achievement of higher levels of return, albeit by accepting higher levels of short-term risk. In fact, leading sovereign fund managers and central banks have already made commitments to an expanded range of asset classes. The expansion of investment latitude includes maturity extensions along the sovereign yield curves that form the core of traditional central bank liquidity portfolios, as well as investments in fixed income sectors such as corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities, and even asset classes such as public and private equities, real estate, and hedge funds. Most recently, in light of the credit turmoil impacting financial institutions, a number of sovereign wealth funds have made direct investments in troubled institutions and have purchased commercial real estate overseas.
This chapter is derived from previous works by the authors, published in Sovereign Wealth Management, in 2007 by Central Banking Publications Ltd.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Black, F. and R. Litterman, “Global Portfolio Optimization,” Financial Analysts Journal, Sep/Oct 1992.
Cornish, E.A. and R.A. Fisher, “Moments and Cumulants in the Specification of Distributions,” Revue de l’Institut International de Statistique, Vol. 5, 307–320, 1936.
Karatzas, I. and S.E. Shreve, Methods of Mathematical Finance, Springer, 1998.
Keating, C. and W.F. Shadwick, Omega: Functions and Metrics, Gilmour Drummond, 2005.
Lee, B, B., “A Practitioner’s Guide to Active Portfolio Management Using Implied View,” Journal of Risk Finance, Fall 2000.
Lee, B. and Y. Lee, “The Alternative Sharpe Ratio,” Intelligent Hedge Fund Investing, Risk Books, 2004.
Markowitz, H.M., “Portfolio Selection,” Journal of Finance, Vol. 7, 77–91, 1952.
Merton, R.C, R.C., “Optimal Investment Strategies for University Endowment Funds,” Worldwide Asset and Liability Modeling, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Sharpe, W.F., “Imputing Expected Returns from Portfolio Composition,” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 463–472, June 1974.
von Neumann, J. and O. Morgenstern, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, Princeton University Press, 1944.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2010 Bernard Lee, David Rogal and Fred Weinberger
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lee, B., Rogal, D., Weinberger, F. (2010). Strategic Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction for Sovereign Wealth Managers. In: Berkelaar, A.B., Coche, J., Nyholm, K. (eds) Central Bank Reserves and Sovereign Wealth Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230250819_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230250819_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-36885-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-25081-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance CollectionEconomics and Finance (R0)