A practical guide to modern portfolio management

By Yoram Lustig

Planning, constructing and managing a multi-asset portfolio

A multi-asset investment management approach provides diversification benefits, enhances risk-adjusted returns and enables a portfolio to be tailored to a wide range of investing objectives, whether these are generating returns or income, or matching liabilities.

This book is divided into four parts that follow the four stages of the multi-asset investment management process:

1. Establishing objectives: Defining the return objectives, risk objectives and investment constraints of a portfolio.

2. Setting an investment strategy: Setting a plan to achieve investment objectives by thinking about long-term strategic asset allocation, combining asset classes and optimisation to derive the most efficient asset allocation.

3. Implementing a solution: Turning the investment strategy into a portfolio using short-term tactical asset allocation, investment selection and risk management. This section includes examples of investment strategies.

4. Reviewing: Evaluating the performance of a portfolio by examining results, risk, portfolio positioning and the economic environment.

By dividing the multi-asset investment process into these well-defined stages, Yoram Lustig guides the reader through the various decisions that have to be made and actions that have to be taken. He builds carefully from defining investment objectives, formulating an investment strategy and the steps of selecting investments, leading to constructing and managing multi-asset portfolios.

At each stage the considerations and strategies to be undertaken are detailed, and the description of the process is supported with relevant financial theory as well as practical, real-life examples.

‘Multi-asset Investing’ is an essential handbook for the modern approach to investment portfolio management.

Yoram joined AXA Investment Managers in 2013 as Head of Multi-Asset Investments UK and Deputy Global Head of Multi-Asset Investments. From 2009 to 2012, Yoram was Head of Multi-Asset Funds at Aviva Investors, leading the multi-asset team and managing a range of multi-billion, multi-asset portfolios. From 2002 to 2009 he was head of portfolio construction at Merrill Lynch, responsible for managing multi-asset discretionary portfolios.

Yoram began his career in 1998 as a lawyer, specialising in corporate, financial and commercial law. Yoram was awarded the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) designation in 2007; the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification in 2005; the Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2004; an MBA from London Business School in 2002; and a law degree from Tel Aviv University in 1997. He is admitted to both the Israel and New York State Bars. He had studied Electrical Engineering for two years in the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology prior to his military service. Yoram is the author of the book Multi-Asset Investing: A practical guide to modern portfolio management (Harriman House, 2013).