“Innovation Unleashed”: CAIA Association, in Conjunction with Some of the World’s Leading Asset Owners, Unveils The Rise of Total Portfolio Approach

March 19, 2024 at 11:20 AM EDT

Future Fund, CPP Investments, New Zealand Superannuation Fund, and GIC lend their voices and insights to an approach representing “one unified means of assessing risk and return of the whole portfolio”

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, the global professional body for the alternative investment industry, is this morning unveiling at the ALTSLA Conference a new report that serves as a fervent appeal to both managers and allocators to rethink and recalibrate nearly all aspects of the traditional portfolio construction process: Innovation Unleashed – The Rise of Total Portfolio Approach.

Described by Geoffrey Rubin, Senior Managing Director and CPP Investments’ One Fund Strategist, and one of the authors who has contributed a piece to this report as “one unified means of assessing risk and return of the whole portfolio…,” Total Portfolio Approach (TPA) is the next era of portfolio construction and a methodology that both evolves and enhances the industry inertia associated with Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) and all that comes with it.

Joining Mr. Rubin in contributing to this seminal work are:

Rubin’s co-author and fellow CPP Investments senior leader Derek Walker, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Design and Construction.
Charles Hyde, Head of Asset Allocation of New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
Ben Samild, Chief Investment Officer of Future Fund.
Swee Chiang Chiam, Head of Total Portfolio Policy and Allocation of GIC.
Jayne Bok, Head of Investments, Asia at WTW; and
CAIA’s own Steven Novakovic, Managing Director, Curriculum, Christie Hamilton, Director, Content and Research, Aaron Filbeck, Managing Director, Head of UniFi by CAIA™, and John L. Bowman, President, CAIA Association.

“We are extremely grateful to all the authors who have lent their voices to this report, which we believe should serve as a beacon to the global investment industry. The guidance these professionals are providing has not only been proven within their own organizations but has the power to be transformative for our entire profession,” said Mr. Bowman.

“As we point out in the report, TPA is not a monolithic methodology that can be applied off the shelf. Rather, there is a spectrum of process variations that may differ from organization to organization,” continued Mr. Bowman. “To that end, each of our authors has approached a key component of TPA and the resulting report provides a wealth of information, not just as to why rethinking calcified approaches is so important, but how a forward-looking, future-proofed organization can do so.”

Each piece that makes up this larger report calls out key lessons for the readers and provides deep analysis of TPA with regard to Governance, Factors, Culture, the Competition for Capital, and more.

Jayne Bok of WTW, who provided the capstone piece on how to assess the fit of TPA and avoid common pitfalls added, “The allocators who have contributed to Innovation Unleashed – The Rise of Total Portfolio Approach collectively represent more than $1.5 trillion in capital and decades of experience in stewardship of that capital. When this group speaks, it is important we all listen,” added Ms. Bok of WTW. “I’m pleased to contribute my insights to this report as well, since WTW has had the benefit of working with several clients who have adopted or are in transition towards TPA. I have repeatedly seen firsthand how the principles of TPA have the potential to reinvigorate all our efforts on behalf of the end investor.”

Several of the authors of Innovation Unleashed – The Rise of Total Portfolio Approach are speaking today as a panel at ALTSLA in Los Angeles, CA taking place at 8:10AM PST. The full report is available for download here and senior leaders of the CAIA team are standing by to discuss the most pertinent details and to answer all questions related to today’s release.

About CAIA Association

The CAIA Association, a global professional body, pioneers a new era in investment management. At the forefront of the shifting of alternative investment asset classes from 'alternative' to mainstream, CAIA embraces diverse expertise and interdisciplinary knowledge essential for responsible capital allocation and client stewardship. A Member-driven organization representing professionals in more than 100 countries, the organization seeks to prepare investors for a dynamic future, disrupting traditions, creating opportunities, and fostering long-term sustainability. To learn more about the CAIA Association and how to become part of a professional network that is shaping the future of investing, please visit https://caia.org/.