The Intertek Group

Management Reports

This section makes available recent Intertek reports of interest to the financial services sector. For information on custom research for the firms in the financial services sector, industry at large or technology vendors, see Research.

2006 Survey : Trends in Equity Portfolio Modeling

Published: September 2006

Number of pages: 25

This Survey by Yale University Prof Frank J. Fabozzi and The Intertek Group looks at trends in the role of modeling in equity portfolio management and the modeling methods being used. It follows on the 2003 study Trends in Quantitative Methods in Asset Management and attempts to register changes that have occurred since then. The Survey finds that quantitative methods are now managing more equity assets and driving more investment strategies than in the period 2004-2005. 84% of the investment professionals surveyed say that the percentage of equity assets under quantitative management at their firms has either increased with respect to the period 2004-2005 (25 out of 38) or has remained stable at 100% of equity assets (7 out of 38). The percentage of equities under quantitative management was down at only one of the 38 firms surveyed. In all, managers at 38 asset management firms participated in the 2006 study. The home market of participating firms is: North America 15 (of which the USA 14,  Canada 1) and Europe 23 (of which the UK 7, Germany 5, Switzerland 4, Benelux 3, France 2, and Italy 2). The study reflects the use of quantitative methods in equity portfolio management at firms managing a total of €3.3 trillion ($4.3 trillion) in equities; nearly two thirds (63%) of the participating firms are among the largest asset managers in their respective countries.

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Can Modeling Help Deal with the Pension Funding Crisis?

Published: December 2004

Number of pages: 39

This report by Yale University Prof Frank J. Fabozzi and The Intertek Group looks at how modeling might help deal with the current pension funding crisis. It looks at pension fund management as a risk management problem, with a trade-off between contributions, asset allocation and risk. A conclusion is that the need to fund pensions keeping costs within bearable limits combined with a volatile low-returns market environment will call for a greater use of computer-based decision-support tools, similar to those already adopted to manage financial risk in the banking and insurance sectors. The report is based on conversations with pension fund managers, regulators, and consultants and academics. Among those interviewed were twenty-eight individuals managing defined-benefit pension plans in the Netherlands (7), Switzerland (5), the United Kingdom (6) and the United States (10) collectively responsible for managing EUR 334 billion ($436bn) in assets.

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Trends in Quantitative Methods in Asset Management - 2003 Update

Published: February 2003

Number of pages: 17

The Intertek Group undertook research to determine trends in the use of quantitative methods in asset management. The resultant report - Trends in Quantitative Methods in Asset Management - 2003 Update - follows on the 2000/2001 study on the same subject and measures changes that have occurred over the last two years. Forty-four interviews were conducted with managers at asset management firms in the Benelux, Switzerland and Scandinavia (7), France (5), Germany (7), Italy (5), the UK (7) and the USA (13). At least 50% of the participants are among the biggest firms in their home markets.

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Leveraging Unstructured Data in Investment Management

Published: May 2002

Number of pages: 65

The management report Leveraging Unstructured Data in Investment Management looks at how advances in text mining technology and emerging XML standards in finance are revolutionizing the ability to extract value from textual information such as analyst reports, business reporting and news. It explores how these developments allow financial firms to access and analyze huge amounts of textual information, eventually combining text and data mining in applications such as fundamental analysis, event analysis, compliance and CRM. The report is based on conversations with over 50 persons from financial institutions, content providers, technology vendors, representatives from industry consortia working on establishing XML standards, and researchers from academia and industry.

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