Achieving Investment Excellence

Introduction

If you are reading this book, you are almost certainly a trustee or board member. Or perhaps you are considering becoming one. Maybe you are an adviser looking for tips on how trustees think about the complex issues you advise on, or you are a board member of a pension fund, endowment or foundation. Irrespective of your level of expertise and profession in the industry, why should you read this book, and which problems are we attempting to solve here? More importantly, how should you use this book and apply it to your own practice for the benefit of your fund and its long-term performance?

The basic premise of this book is that trustees have a crucial role to play in the long-term success of pension funds and other long-horizon asset owner organizations: sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations. Trustees are able to make to a real and meaningful difference when it comes to sustainable pensions for millions of pensioners in the coming decades. For a trustee this may be a powerful, but at the same time scary, idea. In the past decade, the very low interest rates have dramatically increased the cost of meeting future pension payouts, beyond all expectations. The time that you allocate and the level of knowledge that you need to demonstrate have probably increased disproportionately over the years as a consequence of the increased regulation. The stakes for your personal reputation are higher than ever. You understand the importance of doing this job well. ...