We analyse a survey of 200 plan sponsors and investment managers in the US and Europe regarding the use of credit rating guidelines in the conduct of their investment activities. We find that ratings-based guidelines are widespread, but their forms and motivations vary considerably. The usage of...

It is frequently suggested that the globalisation of financial markets has been responsible for reducing the scope for independent monetary policy action by strengthening the relationship between national fixed income markets. An associated concern is that the linkages between these markets...

Long-dated gilt yields are currently well below the comparable German and US government bond yields for the first time in many years. This article considers what factors are likely to have contributed to these changes in nominal rates of return. We conclude that much of the decline in long gilt...

This paper demonstrates that the use of GARCH-type models for the calculation of minimum capital risk requirements (MCRRs) may lead to the production of inaccurate and therefore inefficient capital requirements. We show that this inaccuracy stems from the fact that GARCH models typically...

The UK's defined benefit pensions industry makes widespread use of pooled investment vehicles which are provided by a large number of fund management groups. In this paper we provide the first comprehensive performance analysis of these funds. Using data on 734 pooled funds, that had a combined...

Following the decline in global equity markets, the rise in bond prices and the downward revisions to assumed mortality rates between 2001 and 2003, the UK's defined benefit (DB)pensions industry went from a situation where surpluses and scheme sponsor contribution holidays were commonplace, to...

Factor models are frequently applied to hedge fund returns in an attempt to separate the return from identified risk factors (beta) and from manager skill (alpha). More recently, these same techniques have been used to replicate the returns from hedge fund strategies with varying degrees of...

This paper compares a number of different extreme value models for determining the value at risk of three LIFFE futures contracts. A semi-nonparametric approach is also proposed where the tail events are modeled using the Generalised Pareto Distribution and normal market conditions are captured...

This paper analyses the impact of a move from fractional to decimal pricing in the UK Long Gilt futures market. The reduced tick size following decimalisation leads to an increase in price clustering. The bid-ask spread, measured in ticks, increases following the tick size reduction. However,...