Achieving your target return

October 2012

Many institutional investors have target annual returns in the range of 7% to 8% or higher.

This could take the form of an actuarial assumed rate of return for a pension fund or a spending rate plus an inflation assumption for a foundation. Achieving this target return, however, is anything but guaranteed. In fact, events have conspired to make the challenge of meeting this goal particularly daunting over the next decade. While this challenge may be formidable, it is not insurmountable. This paper reviews various approaches that investors can take that may improve the likelihood of achieving their objectives.