The global financial crisis and its aftermath put into sharp relief the structure and performance of the global financial services industry. Questions have been raised as to what intermediaries separately and together add to the production of investment returns and social welfare (in general)....

US state and local public employee retirement systems (PERS) utilise various models of contract with distinctive features in their form and substantive content in relation to industry norms. These models differ between states, within states, and even between PERS within major metropolitan areas....

This paper focuses upon asset owners, such as pension funds, and their models of investment management, recognizing the choice between insourcing, outsourcing and re-intermediation. Drawing upon the principal-agent problem, the dimensions of the management ‘problem' are identified emphasizing...

Based on the seminal paper by Ronald Coase and subsequent work by Oliver Williamson, Oliver Hart and others, explanations for the existence of firms typically hinge upon the advantages of internal coordination over the purchase of market services. In recent years, the standard theory of the...

Investment returns are produced by combining financial assets with human capital, the decision-making protocols of investment institutions, and the electronic infrastructure which supports the flow of information about investment opportunities. At the centre of the production process stand...