Using case studies of two investment companies, this paper highlights that organizations may have “investment tribes,” i.e., groups of individuals who appear to exhibit similar risk tendencies for gambles involving gains or losses, possibly with a wide spread of risk preferences. Tribes and...

The primary purpose of this research is to empirically test a new asset pricing model, the Relative Asset Pricing Model (RAPM), and to confirm whether hedge portfolios on two new risk factors highlighted in that model, and embedded in all portfolios, have negative and significant risk premia. In...

The move to defined contribution plans has transferred risk to individuals who are least capable of bearing such risk and requires them to make complex decisions for which they are not prepared. Accumulation (investments) and decumulation (annuity purchase) decisions are complex, costly, often...

There is a looming retirement crisis globally with the three pillars of retirement threatened because of insufficient funding, improper investment decisions, and transferring risk to individuals who are least capable of bearing such risk. This paper argues that the introduction of a unique...

This paper makes a simple but bold argument that because mean-variance optimization (MVO) and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) were derived from a theoretical construct rather than reality, they represent a specialized case of a more general theory. We suggest a theory based on the...

Dynamic beta is a program that dynamically allocates to beta assets based on formal rules. It contrasts with standard mean-variance optimization and static risk-parity approaches, which are static. Dynamic beta lowers the overall risk of the fund — where risk includes volatility of returns...

There is an annuity puzzle in that despite the welfare gains to individuals and society from consumers purchasing annuities, the actual allocation to these instruments by individuals is very low. Many explanations have been provided including adverse selection, complexity and inflexibility of...

CAPM came under a lot of scrutiny and attack as its simplicity also led to extensive testing which did not bear out the conclusions. This paper seeks to re-think CAPM in light of the broader trend in the institutional world to implement Liability Driven Investments (LDI) to see if this can help...