Public Pension Funds - An Overview (October 2008)

While the financial press often focuses on the growth and evolution of the market towards alternative investments (investments outside of stocks, bonds and cash) and the players that comprise this market, such as hedge funds and private equity funds, a key player within both the traditional and the alternative investment space is often overlooked: pension funds. In this document, we will examine the shift in types of retirement plans within the U.S. and the change in asset allocation and investment strategies that public pension funds have undertaken in an attempt to resolve this funding shortfall.

Sovereign Wealth Funds - A Perspective On Their Presence

The recent activities of Sovereign Wealth Funds ('SWFs') have attracted a considerable amount of attention and scrutiny from both the financial and political media - a level of attention not seen since the widespread proliferation of the hedge fund industry in the late 1990's. The purpose of this paper is to provide our clients with a general overview of some characteristics of SWFs, their prominence as institutional investors, and the corporate governance implications relevant to their role in the global securities markets.