Backward benchmarks: Do conventional frameworks still work?

EQUITIES

George Latham, managing partner and chief investment officer of the listed equities team at WHEB, asks if conventional investment frameworks are still adequate for the changing financial world.

We live in a rapidly and profoundly changing world that is facing significant challenges. World population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Most of this population growth is set to come from the developing world, which at the same time is seeing increasing numbers move out of poverty. Against such a background, is the conventional framework by which investors decide on their market exposure adequate or comprehensive? Traditionally investors allocate by region and asset class, and reference their exposure to a market-capitalisation weighted benchmark. However, this set of cho...