Investment Consulting

Risk Budgeting Martyn Dorey 2nd December 2002 Aon Consulting Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority for investment business

Risk Budgeting (RB) Agenda What is risk budgeting? Why do it? What is the Output from risk budgeting? What are the benefits? Conclusion

What is risk Romans and Renaissance –Uncharted water = uncertainly –Not fatalism Fatalism –Select fund managers –Fear of regret

What is risk budgeting Attempt to balance –Active/passive management –Matching/non-matching asset classes

Why do it? Consistency in advice Cheap ALM tool? Some structure to advice

Published work in the market Watsons: Risk budget paper presented to institute BGI risk budget paper in Journal of Portfolio Management Portfolio Risk & Working Party

General impressions of work Difficulties of justification remain How to fit with ‘way in which we do things’

Watsons Kicked off the concept Reception pensive Conceptually fit two efficient frontiers over each other Passive AA Active

BGI Similar Introduces optimisation Assumes managers independent Deals with active & passive separately Separate maths for active and passive optimisation Active is growth/value

Comments Optimise against liabilities in an integrated fashion Express solution as variation in funding level Understand correlations between managers and trade-off Hard bit is philosophy & calibration

Funding level at risk (FAR) Assume that the funding level is like a statisticians bell curve 100% funded Average in the middle

(FAR) Tails are linked to funding levels 100% funded 95% funded 105% funded

(FAR) The area adds up to 100% 100% funded Whole area adds up to 100% 95% funded 105% funded

(FAR) Area represents a probability 100% funded 10% chance 95% funded

(FAR) This scheme has a 10% chance of being less than 95% funded 100% funded 10% chance 95% funded Asset mix one

(FAR) What can you tell me about this scheme? 100% funded 1% chance 95% funded Asset mix two

What is this spread then? Tracking error = assets - liabilities Mismatching different returns from benchmark If you know how asset returns will differ you know how funding levels will differ you know how contribution rates will vary

Things that affect spread Current funding level Amortisation period Asset classes held Active/passive mix Definition of benchmark

How do we calculate risk? Ye olde way

Relative covariance Optimising Silly Optimising Cinch

Thinking in another dimension                                   RelCorr ~ B

Case study Client liability benchmark –40% Gilts –40% MFR UK Equities –20% Cash Only look at a few asset classes

Scenario1 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Risk vs Benchmark % % Asset Alloc Property 5.5% OS Equities 4.6% UK Equities 38.3% Corporate AA 5.5% Index Linked Gilts 0% FI Gilts 34.1% Cash 12.2% The spread of returns (as standard deviation) around the liability benchmark Case study - (risk)

Case study - (funding level)

Implementing ALM Client liability benchmark –40% Gilts –40% MFR UK Equities –20% Cash ALM says….. –20% Cash –40% FI –30% UK Equity –10% OS Equity

Happiness Objective modelling Model upside & downside varying manager skill varying tracking error (TE) identify optimum TE

Happiness Tracking error Manager skill Optimum risk What is the right level of risk?