Impact of SEC Rule Changes for Money Market Funds Regulatory Update

Over the past year, the SEC has been phasing in regulatory changes for money market funds resulting from adopted amendments to Rule 2a-7. These amendments were passed on July 12, 2023, in response to the stress that money market funds faced at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 when investors rapidly pulled more than $130 billion dollars from money market funds. As a result, the Treasury and Federal Reserve had to step in to provide emergency liquidity facilities to shore up the short-term funding market. The changes primarily focus on institutional prime and tax-exempt money market funds, which have historically been more susceptible to investor runs.

This regulatory update summarizes these changes as well as which fund types are impacted.

Kweku Obed Speaking at NASP 2022 Conference 6/27

On Monday, June 27th, Kweku Obed, CFA, CAIA will be speaking at the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) 33rd annual financial services conference, “Breaking the Status Quo: Leading With Renewed Purpose,” in Chicago.

Kweku will be presenting a session as part of the NASP Institute track entitled, “Portfolio Protection Strategies: Best Practices for Securities Litigation & Portfolio Monitoring.” He and fellow instructor Marlon Kimpson of Motley Rice, LLC, will present the merits of portfolio monitoring and the elements of securities fraud cases. The session will end with a brief overview of pension fund governance and the fiduciary responsibilities of fund trustees.

NASP was founded in Chicago in 1985 and is the premier organization that assists people of color and women achieve inclusion in the financial services industry. For more information, please visit the event webpage.

OCIO Momentum Continues

One of the most significant evolutions in our business over the last decade has been the growth of our Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (“OCIO”) services platform. What at first seemed like chance requests over a decade ago from a handful of clients looking for additional help managing their portfolios has become increasingly mainstream. More than half of our prospective client engagements last year inquired about OCIO services. Our experience is certainly reflective of a broader industry trend as OCIO assets under management have grown from $90 billion to an estimated $2.7 trillion over the last fifteen years.¹ Given the industry growth and increased interest in OCIO services from our client base, we thought we’d share our experience as to why institutions are asking about OCIO and what the major challenges are that Marquette has helped these clients solve.

Read > OCIO Momentum Continues

 

The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.

Mike Spychalski Speaking at NIAFPD Annual Conference 1/26

On Friday, January 26, Mike Spychalski, CAIA, will be speaking at the Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection District’s (NIAFPD) 25th Annual Conference in Oak Brook, IL.

Mike will lead a discussion called “Managing Risk & Setting Asset Allocations in Pension Portfolios”. The conversation will focus on challenges associated with managing portfolio risk and returns given current market conditions.

The NIAFPD event is an educational conference designed for trustees, commissioners, chief officers and administrative staff. Attendees will have the opportunity to gather and exchange ideas and information pertaining to fire protection districts.

For more information, please visit the NIAFPD event page.

Rebalancing Position Paper

Regularly rebalancing portfolios is one of the key duties of trustees and other fiduciaries responsible for managing an institutional portfolio. Asset allocations are set to provide a predetermined risk/reward profile that fits a fund’s objectives and constraints. Portfolios are rebalanced when they drift away from policy target in order to maintain the risk/reward profiles implicit in the original asset allocations. But how often should clients rebalance their portfolios? What guidelines should clients use to determine when to rebalance? And what are the costs and benefits associated with rebalancing? This paper takes a rigorous look at rebalancing and provides some guidelines for implementing a rebalancing policy.

Download PDF >

The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.

 

An October to Forget?

Stock markets around the globe “corrected” in October, experiencing a sudden and broad-based drop. The sell-off was somewhat unusual as there was no glaring fundamental event that triggered the market drop, but rather a confluence of events that all seemed to come to the forefront of investors’ minds simultaneously. These concerns, coming on the heels of a strong third quarter for stocks that left the market looking modestly overvalued, led to an unpleasant month of returns.

Download PDF >

The opinions expressed herein are those of Marquette Associates, Inc. (“Marquette”), and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to purchase or sell any product. Marquette reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs.

Stress Test and Spending Policies for Endowments & Foundations

2013 Marquette Investment Symposium session

In this presentation from our 2013 Investment Symposium, we analyze different spending policy options for non-profit institutions, examine the long and short term effects of various spending policy decisions, and explore how stress testing can aid in understanding the risks of different spending policies.


Investment Symposium 2013
September 13, 2013

Please contact us for access to this presentation.

Portfolio Rebalancing Guide

Failure to rebalance a portfolio can lead to a much different risk and return profile than suggested by the original asset allocation. Although straightforward in concept, the topic of rebalancing is not always understood, most especially its importance in times of market stress. In this paper, we address the most common rebalancing programs utilized by investors, and investigate the advantages of each.

Regularly rebalancing portfolios is one of the key duties of trustees and other fiduciaries responsible for managing institutional portfolios. Asset allocations are set to provide a predetermined risk/reward profile that fits a fund’s objectives and constraints. Portfolios are rebalanced when they drift away from policy target in order to maintain the risk/reward profile implicit in the original asset allocation. How often should clients rebalance their portfolios? What guidelines should clients use to determine when to rebalance? What are the costs and benefits associated with rebalancing? This paper takes a rigorous look at rebalancing, and provides some guidelines for implementing a rebalancing policy.

Download PDF

Portfolio Rebalancing Policy: A Fiduciary Duty in Good Markets & Bad

Live webinar to discuss our upcoming paper on rebalancing and guidelines for implementing a rebalancing policy.

Portfolios must be rebalanced to maintain the risk/reward profile set in the original asset allocation. But how often should portfolios be rebalanced? And what guidelines should be used to determine when to rebalance? As institutional investment stewards, trustees and their investment consultants have a fiduciary duty to set a clear policy on portfolio rebalancing.

Register now to join us for a live webinar to discuss our upcoming paper on rebalancing [*note updated in 2018] and guidelines for implementing a rebalancing policy. We’ll address key questions to consider and discuss in more detail with your consultant.

 


Live Webinar – Wednesday, May 16, 2012 – 1:00-1:45 PM CT

Featuring: Greg Leonberger, FSA, EA, MAAA, Vice President and Director of Research; Nat Kellogg, CFA, Associate Director of Research

Who should attend: Institutional investment stewards, investment managers

Please contact us for access to this video.