Pension Risk Matters : Pension Risk News & Analysis : Investment Governance, Inc. : Pension Risk & Investment

If institutional investors thought of leverage as a bouquet of daisies, they'd be playing "(S)he loves me, (S)he loves me not" and hoping to still be respected in the morning. Now that the worst economic recession of modern times might be abating somewhat, more than a few buy side executives are looking for a sweetheart to help them replenish diminished portfolio values. Let's just hope that the love affair is not fickle, causing more hurt than help.

In "Wall Street's New Flight to Risk" (February 15, 2010), Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporters Shanon D. Harrington, Pierre Paulden and Jody Shenn write that investors are on the prowl for yield. With over $150 billion allocated to U.S. bond funds, returns are low and the only way to add some excitement is with exotics such as "payment-in-kind" bonds that encourage the issuance of more debt than a borrower's operating cash flow would ordinarily support. Derivatives are another Valentine, with banks "again pushing" collateralized debt obligations ("CDO's) that can increase in value (depending on the trade) as defaults increase. 

On January 27, 2010, Wall Street Journal reporter Craig Karmin writes that public pension funds are borrowing money to enhance returns rather than allocating to alternatives such as hedge funds and private equity pools. According to "Public Pensions Look at Leverage Strategy," funds can turn in a good performance with the use of leverage without having to resort to "volatile stocks" or illiquid assets. Others quoted in this recent piece suggest that risks exist and must be acknowledged.

Heartbreak hotel - here we come.

Call me crazy but a move towards leverage (possibly excessive) seems scary UNLESS and UNTIL asset managers and institutional investors alike can demonstrate that they know how to properly measure and manage. For every person who is asked to define investment leverage, the answer is seldom the same. AIMA Canada makes a good effort to add clarity to this important topic. See "An Overview of Leverage" (Strategy Paper Series Companion Document, October 2006, Number 4).

Does anyone have a good example of a risk management policy manual that expressly addresses how leverage is defined and managed accordingly? If so, please email Editors@InvestmentGovernance.com.

L'amour with leverage - how sweet it is, until it isn't. Then what?

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In "How Street Rode The Risk Ledge And Fell Over," Wall Street Journal reporter Justin Lahart writes that "many lenders, funds and brokerages were following statistical models that grossly underestimated how risky the market environment had become." Warnings about model error or "model risk" are not new. In "Model Risk and Valuation" (Valuation Strategies - March/April 2003), Dr. Susan M. Mangiero, CFA and Accredited Valuation Analyst, suggests possible red flags, adding that the consequences of a poor, inaccurate or incomplete model (or problems with data) can be dire. She adds that what constitutes a "good" model is likewise important to assess. This is sometimes made more difficult when inputs themselves must be modeled. For example, in the case of derivatives related to credit risk or mortgage loans (dominating headlines of late), estimating variables such as prepayment or recovery rates is an important precursor to any valuation of the derivative instrument itself. Email us if you would like articles about model risk and valuation.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks (2)
• Share Link

According to Wall Street Journal  reporters Kate Kelly, Liam Pleven and James R. Hagerty, at least ten funds struggle with sub-prime loan woes in the form of diminished portfolio values. As if that isn't bad enough, some institutional investors are being given the unhappy news that withdrawals are suspended. For pension funds in search of liquidity, look elsewhere. (See "Wall Street, Bear Stearns Hit Again By Investors Fleeing Mortgage Sector," Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2007.)

As the fallout continues, with no end in sight, it is worth repeating that fiduciaries are on the hook for creating, and then following, a prudent process with respect to investment selection. ERISA itself mandates that employee benefit plan fiduciaries must carry out their duties in the sole interest of the plan's participants and with the "care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims."

These few words speak volumes about the many things a plan sponsor must consider before committing money to a particular instrument, strategy or asset manager. Questions naturally arise. A few of them are shown below.

1. Have plan sponsors sufficiently queried asset managers about how they measure default risk ?

2. How are structured financial transactions collateralized?

3. Who is responsible for collateral management?

4. What safeguards exist to enforce collateral quality and amount?

5. Do asset managers make their policies and procedures available to plan sponsors who want to know more about valuation, operational controls, collateral issues and trading limits?

6. Are positions being marked to model?

7. Who reviews the integrity of the model and related data inputs?

8. What could cause estimated default risk to rise for "questionable" borrowers and how are asset managers tracking identified risk drivers?

9. What are the investors' rights to withdraw funds?

10. Does an asset manager reserve any capital against its expected risk exposure, voluntarily or otherwise?

Several observations are in order. First, investment problems are not unique to small funds. To the contrary, some large mortgage-related funds (in terms of assets) are currently in crisis mode. Second, recent market drops and rising credit spreads are forcing companies to delay IPOs or incur higher costs of capital. This means that all investors are invariably impacted. Third, the fallout is global, with several prominent non-U.S. funds announcing big hits.

This may be the beginning of the end for easy credit and the start of a "brave new world" for plan sponsors who cannot afford a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" approach.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link