Derivatives: The $270 Trillion Gorilla
The just released pension fund asset management guidelines, courtesy of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), state that "legal provisions should address the use of derivatives and other similar commitments, taking into account both their utility and the risks of their inappropriate use".
I will devote considerable time to the topic of derivatives and pensions in this blog. For now, I will make a few introductory comments to hopefully whet your appetite.
1. Derivatives can be used in a variety of ways to manage assets and/or liabilities and for both defined contribution and defined benefit plans (though there are significant differences with respect to strategy, risk assessment, accounting treatment and so on). I have written a lot about this topic, including a book and countless articles, and there is still much more to say. Identifying, measuring and managing risk is a cornerstone of being a good investment fiduciary.
2. The derivatives market is huge. According to the Bank for International Settlements, outstanding over-the-counter derivatives contracts (in terms of notional amounts) exceeded $270 trillion when estimated in June 2005. Think about it. In comparision, the U.S. national debt tally is approximately $8.36 trillion. Estimated 2005 gross world product is $59.38 trillion. The global derivatives market is the proverbial 200 pound gorilla of the financial world. It is worthwhile understanding why this market continues to grow. (Stay tuned!)
3. Derivatives are contracts that "derive" their value from the value of an underlying security, commodity, index or other type of instrument. For example, the value of a gold derivatives contract depends on the price of cash gold. (Derivatives valuation is a broad topic and will be addressed in other postings.)
4. The term "financial risk management" typically refers to the use of derivatives in some fashion (though this is not always the case).
5. Pension fiduciaries who ignore derivatives, especially if the Investment Policy Statement restricts their use, may want to rethink their stance. They should know that financial performance is impacted by the price behavior of derivative instruments if they have allocated monies to: (a) hedge funds or mutual funds that employ derivatives (b) asset-backed securities such as mortgage-backed bonds or collateral default obligations (c) convertible bonds (d) callable bonds (e) currency sharing agreements (f) private equity with warrant arrangements (g) contingencies of any type and the list goes on.
6. Derivatives, used improperly, can wreak havoc. Much more will be said about the identification and measurement of risk, how to determine appropriate use and a host of other critical MUST KNOW elements of the decision-making process.
7. The issue of a fiduciary duty to hedge is an ongoing and interesting legal question.
8. Financial engineering opens the door wide to a variety of new investment opportunities for pension funds. Fiduciaries must know (or learn) how to evaluate each opportunity. Outsourcing does not eliminate the fiduciary's duty to monitor.
9. Using derivatives is seldom a one-time event but instead requires a commitment to evaluate economic efficacy on an ongoing basis.
10. Creating a risk management process is just the beginning. I will address the Five C Approach(SM) as a way to assist fiduciaries.
