The Future of Pension Management: Integrating Design, Governance, and Investing

Praise for The Future of Pension Management

"No one has thought more about the issues related to managing pension money better or longer than Ambachtsheer. His writings are a must read for serious people with a desire to serve their beneficiaries well. This new book is destined to become a classic."
Britt Harris, CIO, Teachers Retirement System of Texas, USA

"Ambachtsheer′s latest book is both substantial and timely, bringing together the latest thinking on the global pensions industry. He mobilises both its theoretical and creative aspects in what is seen as an increasingly necessary and even righteous cause."
Virginia Holmes, Board Chair, Universities Superannuation Scheme Investment Management, UK

"Trustees of pension funds often decide on ′how′ before they decide ′what′ they should be doing. This book gets the order right: from objectives, to strategy, and then measuring outcomes. Keith has always been the leading voice of reason on pension fund design and management. This book is no exception."
Brad Holzberger, CIO, QSuper, Australia

"Providing adequate pensions is a key challenge for ageing societies. In this new book, Ambachtsheer proves again his unique ability to combine theory and practice in unscrambling the complex problems surrounding pension design, governance, and investing. It is compulsory reading for all pension professionals around the globe."
Klaas Knot, President, De Nederlandsche Bank, The Netherlands

"In his new book, Keith translates classic theory from famous economists into concrete solutions for pension funds. The result is essential reading for those who believe the future of pension management will start today."
Geraldine Leegwater, CEO, ABN AMRO Pensioenfonds, and Board Member, ABP Pensioenfonds, The Netherlands

"Once again, Keith translates academic insights into the real world of pensions. He starts with pension delivery, from which he works backwards to deduce plan design, governance and investment strategy always with the objective to benefit plan members. Anyone with an interest in pensions will enjoy reading this book."
Carsten Stendevad, CEO, Danish Labour Market Supplementary Pension (ATP), Denmark

"In his new book, Ambachtsheer has successfully combined all of the essential elements of our industry from plan design, to governance, to investment strategy. It is a must read for everyone in the pension industry, including policy makers, plan trustees, and investment managers."
Mark Wiseman, CEO, CPP Investment Board, Canada

Preface

Part I: Touchstones

Chapter 1: Improved Pension Designs and Organizations: Gateways to a More Functional Capitalism

Chapter 2: Pension Plans for the Masses: Good Idea or Pipe Dream?

Chapter 3: Does Institutional Investing Have a Future?

Chapter 4: Thomas Piketty s Capital in the 21st Century: Its Relevance to Pension Fund Management

Part II: Pension Design

Chapter 5: Why We Need to Change the Conversation about Pension Reform

Chapter 6: On the Costing and Funding of Defined–Benefit Pensions: Separating Fact and Fiction

Chapter 7: Defining Defined–Ambition Pension Plans: Conclusions from an International Conversation

Chapter 8: What Are Target–Benefit Plans and Why Should You Care?

Chapter 9: Designing 21st Century Pension Plans: We re Making Progress!

Part III: Pension Governance

Chapter 10: How Effective Is Pension Fund Governance Today?: Findings from a New Survey

Chapter 11: The Evolving Meaning of Fiduciary Duty: Is Your Board of Trustees Keeping Up?

Chapter 12: Pension Funds and Integrated Reporting: Improving Stakeholder Communications

Chapter 13: Measuring Value–for–Money in Pension Organizations: A New Look

Chapter 14: Measuring Value–for–Money in Private Markets Investing: Why Investors Need a Standard Protocol

Chapter 15: How Pension Funds Pay Their Own People

Chapter 16: Investment Beliefs and Organization Design: Are They Aligned in Your Organization?

Chapter 17: Norway versus Yale or versus Canada?: A Comparison of Investment Models

Chapter 18: Does Culture Matter in Pension Organizations?

Part IV: Pension Investing

Chapter 19: Are Investment Returns Predictable?

Chapter 20: Investment Returns in the 21st Century

Chapter 21: Long–Termism as the Dominant Investment Paradigm

Chapter 22: Investing for the Long Term I: From Saying to Doing

Chapter 23: Investing for the Long Term II: How Should We Measure Performance?

Chapter 24: Investing for the Long Term III: Does It Produce Better Outcomes?

Chapter 25: Are Alphas and Betas Bunk?

Chapter 26: Risk Management Revisited

Chapter 27: From an Unknown to a Known: Managing Climate Change Risk

Conclusion

Endnotes

About the Author

Index

KEITH P. AMBACHTSHEER is Director Emeritus of the International Centre for Pension Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and President of KPA Advisory Services, which provides strategic advice to a global clientele of pension and investment organizations. He is the author of three bestselling books and has been a regular contributor to industry journals since the 1970s.