Research : Investment Research

Wilshire Consulting's Investment Research Group is dedicated to addressing the investment challenges and opportunities facing our clients. The Investment Research Group generates independent research reports on traditional and alternative asset classes; market and economic reviews; capital markets events; and industry trends.

The following sample papers, including Wilshire's latest funding reports, are available for general access:

Funding Studies:

• 2017 State Funding Report
• 2016 Corporate Funding Report
• 2016 City & County Funding Report

Research Papers:

• Where's the "F" in ESG?
• 2016 Active Management Review
• Bonds Gone Wild: The Role of Unconstrained Bond Strategies
• Implications of Rising Rates on Asset Performance
• The Bucket List: Utilizing Broad Investment Groupings in Asset-Liability Studies

The research reports listed below are available through our online Wilshire Mobile Research Library, a password-protected site. To register for a password or request a particular paper, please contact us at contactconsulting@wilshire.com.

Asset Class Research:

• Considering the Alternative: Alternative Strategies for Enhancing Returns and/or Managing Risks
• Credit Opportunities: Perspectives on the Current Marketplace
• TIPS Asset Class Update
• Alternative Mutual Fund Strategies: Liquid Opportunities for Institutional Investors
• Recent Developments in Emerging Market Debt
• Hedge Fund Style Assumptions: Methodology Overview
• Alternative Equity-Weighting Strategies
• Bank Loans: A Special Credit Opportunity
• Investing in MLPs
• Municipal Bonds: Historical, Current and Future Perspectives
• Fixed Income Structure: High Yield and Core versus Core-Plus Mandates

Asset Allocation & Asset-Liability Research:

• Factor-Based Asset Allocation: Can It Lead to Better Portfolios?
• Asset Allocation Return and Risk Assumptions (Annual)
• Revisiting Home-Country Bias: Is It Time to Come Home?
• A Rebalancing Act: Considerations for Implementing a Rebalancing Policy
• The Weighting is the Hardest Part, Dynamic Asset Allocation: A Game Plan for Systematic De-risking of Corporate DB Plans
• The Bucket List: Utilizing Broad Investment Groupings in Asset-Liability Studies
• Risk-Focused Diversification: Utilizing Leverage within Asset Allocation
• The Use of Leverage in Investment Portfolios: "I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday for an Exposure Today"
• Implications of Return Non-normality on Asset Allocation: The Impact of “Fat Tails” and Skew on Portfolio Construction

Strategic Implementation & Market/Economic Research:

• Active Management Review (Annual)
• Bonds Gone Wild: The Role of Unconstrained Bond Strategies
• Implications of Rising Rates on Asset Performance
• ESG Investing Update
• DC Plan Notes: Real Assets and DC Plans
• 2012 European Market Environment Survey
• 2011 Market Sell-Off: Investor Implications
• DC Notes: Behavioral Finance
• DC Notes: Target Date Funds: The Current Marketplace
• Inflation In-depth: The In-s and De-s of Price Movement
• DC Notes: Longevity Risk, Annuities and Lifetime Income Products
• Yield Environment in Perspective
• Opportunistic Investing: “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero”
• DC Plan Notes: How Stable Is the Stable Value Marketplace?
• Benchmarking Private Investments: Assessing Performance despite Index Imprecision