ABSTRACT
The investment or asset management industry plays an important role in financial intermediation. In the context of the Handbook, asset management refers to the management of financial assets by asset management companies on behalf of investors. This chapter aims to help trustees put in to practice the power that Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers references in the opening quotation. The management of pension investments involves a number of players, ranging from the asset owners, the asset manager intermediaries, and various investment professionals that help invest pension plan assets, to the users of capital. The investment policy statement or statement of investment policy is a written statement that provides trustee fiduciaries, as well as other key players in the investment value chain, with guidelines on the management of the fund’s investment portfolio. Trustee fiduciaries are required to oversee the prudent investment of plan assets in line with the long-term economic interests of plan participants and beneficiaries.
