Investment Management: Meeting the Noble Challenges of Funding Pensions, Deficits, and Growth

Today's investment professional faces the formidable challenge of funding the retirement of millions of workers as well as meeting the capital formation needs that sustain businesses around the world. During these extremely volatile times, the rate at which changes are occurring in areas directly impacting the practice of investing has forced individuals in this field to "think about their thinking" and reexamine some of their long-standing assumptions.

Wayne Wagner—a leading financial thinker whose work on investment management efficiency has saved investors billions of dollars—and Ralph Rieves—an experienced financial editor and advisor, who's worked with some of the best minds in the business—understand the issues affecting investment managers, fiduciaries, trustees, and regulators striving to meet the challenges of funding pensions, deficits, and growth. Now, with Investment Management, Wagner and Rieves address these issues through the contributions of acknowledged authorities from various investment management companies, consulting firms, professional associations, and universities.

Current turmoil in the capital markets has made global financial stewardship a difficult endeavor, but by facing reality, focusing on clients, and reexamining assumptions, you can continue to succeed, and Investment Management will show you how. Divided into six comprehensive parts—with contributions from a roster of top professionals and academics including Peter Bernstein, Richard Bookstaber, Robert Jaeger, Arnold Wood, and Francis Gupta, among others—this well-rounded resource:

Part I explores the turbulence and changes within the industry, and suggests what it might take to fulfill your investment obligations moving forward

Part II details some attitudinal challenges that the financial world will always face

Part III addresses the "town and gown" aspects of the investment process through discussions of theory and practice

Part IV offers insights on client-side challenges and provides professionals with a better understanding of what the business is all about

Part V describes the transactional aspects of portfolio management—from understanding the technology to executing cost-effective trades

Part VI focuses on the attributes and characteristics necessary to sustain the growth of a firm—from substantiating policy and building a professional team to utilizing emerging technology

As a professional in the investment industry—and steward of the world's assets—you need to adjust accordingly to changing markets, as well as reassess the way you manage money. Investment Management will put you in a better position to do this, and much more, as it offers practical guidance on navigating an ever-evolving financial landscape.

Praise for Investment Management

"A compelling analysis of the challenges of investment management, and why investment management firms require innovation to succeed."
—Blake Grossman, CEO, Barclays Global Investors

"Great investment managers understand that positioning portfolios for clients should not be an act of conformity, but rather a constant journey of shifting fundamentals and opinion. Wayne and Ralph bring this fact to life by addressing some of the key challenges to serious investment thinking, using top-level researchers in their respective fields. For those investment managers and clients who want to go beyond the ordinary."
—Jeff Diermeier, former CEO of CFA Institute and retired CIO of UBS Global Asset Management

"The essays in this book provide an invaluable reference point of serious readings for money managers. The works provide the analyst with the most recent scholarship in a single book, presenting ideas and philosophy that will lead me back to its various sections time and time again."
—Kenneth S. Hackel, CFA, President, CT Capital LLC

"The crash of 2007–2009 brought a harsh conclusion to a quarter of a century of unprecedented growth and prosperity for the investment management industry, which faces no less a task than reinventing itself. Rieves' and Wagner's contribution to the way forward couldn't be timelier."
—Richard Ennis, Principal, Ennis Knupp + Associates

"This book uniformly focuses on the best practices to which investment management professionals should commit. I highly recommend this book to investment managers, sales people, and trustees of pensions, endowments, trusts, and mutual funds."
—Jack Clark Francis, PhD, Professor of Economics and Finance, Bernard Baruch College