•  
• Tweet
•  
•        Print
•  
•         Track Keywords
•  
• 

By Beverly Chandler, Opalesque London:

The $24 bn Commonfund has recently immersed itself in alternatives with the publication of a white paper on managed futures and the findings of its Commonfund Forum Investor Outlook Survey 2012. Founded in 1971, Commonfund is an institutional investment firm serving nonprofit institutions, pension funds and other institutional investors, offering investment solutions drawn from the traditional and alternative investment arenas.

The survey was conducted on terms of confidentiality and was based on responses from 222 investors representing aggregate assets of $239 billion. Surprisingly, investor expectations for 2012 were reasonably bullish with an average forecast for the S&P 500 Index of 8.3% and a median forecast of 9.0%. The firm notes that this was almost unchanged from last year’s average forecast of 8.55% and median forecast of 9.0%. The biggest fear of 'tail risk’ lies in the EU crisis at 32%, while the Washington gridlock over US debt lay at third place with 23% most concerned about debt.

The implications of these sentiments were assessed in terms of likely shifts in portfolio allocations to different investment strategies. The res......................

To view our full article Click here