F. Harlan Batrus

Ryan Labs Asset Management specializes in managing fixed-income portfolios that are customized to meet institutional clients' unique duration needs. The firm's strategies include Liability Driven Investing (LDI) strategies which are managed versus a Custom Liability Index, as well as enhanced market strategies which are managed against traditional fixed-income benchmarks. Ryan Labs' investment approach seeks to neutralize interest rate risk and add value through sector rotation and issue selection. They apply a disciplined investment process versus market indices or LDI strategies versus custom liability indices. Their objective is to meet clients' objectives with the least amount of total risk and total costs. Ryan Labs believes these objectives are best achieved through the use of structured portfolios with active issue selection and a passive interest rate prediction strategy. The firm believes interest rates are difficult to predict and need to be neutralized. Ryan Labs does not take active interest rate positions.

For active fixed-income, LBAM's decision-making process incorporates controlled duration decisions, sector decisions, and individual issue valuation decisions. They base interest rate and sector-related investment decisions on our economic growth forecast. The firm uses risk exposure analysis and risk budgeting models to quantify and manage risks associated with strategies that they design to add value relative to the benchmark index. Individual issue selections result from internal research generated by research specialists. They diversify holdings to reduce credit exposure to individual issuers. Eligible investments for core strategies include US dollar denominated investment-grade securities; for core plus strategies the universe of securities expands to include high yield. For passive bond indexing, LBAM seeks to take advantage of risk premiums as they are reflected in individual security prices. These premiums offer compensation for accepting credit and structure risks associated with individual issues. Explicit quantification and control of risks are at the heart of this investment process. The firm uses proprietary risk exposure analysis to analyze yield curve factors and spread-related factors. For each yield curve and spread factor, the portfolio is very closely matched to the index to ensure that the portfolio earns the same return as the index for any change in interest rates or change in sector spreads. Based on internally generated research, they integrate individual issue selections into the portfolio without disrupting the integrity of the portfolio structure. Holdings are diversified to reduce credit exposure to individual issuers. Eligible investments include securities included in the index, plus those that are their equivalents in terms of credit and structure risks. LBAM's high yield bond management decision-making process begins with a macro-economic framework for determining the appropriate portfolio structure according to defensive versus cyclical industries and appropriate quality orientation (between high BB to low B). Once they have established the overall structure, the firm determines specific industry weights and individual issuer selections. Their research analysts focus on identifying securities that exhibit improving credit fundamentals while avoiding those that experience deterioration in their credit quality. LBAM diversifies holdings to reduce credit exposure to individual issuers. Eligible investments include dollar denominated bonds rated below investment-grade including Rule 144A securities and the full range of structures such as pay-in-kind bonds, interest reset bonds and other instruments that are consistent with high yield investing.

MSIM’s investment strategies span the risk/return spectrum across geographies, investment styles and asset classes, including equity, fixed income, alternatives and private markets. When considering their clients’ unique investment profiles, the firm applies a holistic approach, with a goal of incorporating the different factors affecting investors’ investment decisions. The firm combines top-down country allocation with bottom-up stock selection and disciplined risk management.

Publishes business magazine

LAM offers products across a broad spectrum of asset classes, designed for different client types. The firm’s traditional and alternative investment services cover listed equity and fixed income investments in a wide range of global, regional and country specific strategies. Risk management is integral to their portfolio construction. They rely heavily on fundamental, bottom-up investment research.

Functions as a College/University