Boards and executives of long-term funds, such as pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments need to manage their portfolios to meet their long-term purpose, which may be decades or more into the future.

Yet no fund has the luxury of looking only to that long-term time horizon. Each must also meet expectations in the near term in order to continue in its role and with its investment strategy. This challenge of meeting both long-term obligations and short-term expectations means that even the longest-term investor must manage across multiple time horizons. This necessity is often at odds with most risk processes, which have been developed to address short-term risks or to target long-term return—but not both.

FCLTGlobal, with input from its members, which include many of the world’s leading asset owners and investors, has raised this challenge as central to their ability to take advantage of their long time horizons. Too often, funds carefully set up long-term investment strategies, with a focus on meeting their ultimate purpose, only to shift to a short-term strategy in response to stressful market conditions.

Reports

Report

Recap: FCLT Summit 2025

March 6, 2025

At FCLT Summit 2025, business and investment leaders developed practical solutions for creating long-term value amid unprecedented structural shifts in global capital markets.

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Report

Adapting Corporate Sustainable Value Creation Indicators for Investors

September 30, 2021

In the last few years, it has become well accepted that climate risk is investment risk, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) linked assets have...

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Report

Ripples of Responsibility: How Long-term Investors Navigate Uncertainty with Purpose

June 21, 2021

Expectations of long-term investors have expanded well beyond usual notions of their core purpose to include their impact on markets, society, and the environment. The...

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Report

Building Long-term Value: A Blueprint for CFOs

December 18, 2019

A company's CFO has a unique ability to drive long-term value creation for the organization.

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Balancing Act

Report

Balancing Act: Managing Risk Across Multiple Time Horizons

December 21, 2018

Boards and executives of long-term funds, such as pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments, have a challenging problem. They need to manage those portfolios...

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Articles

Article

What’s in a name? Sustainability simply means securing the future

April 22, 2024

Today, private sector executives from across the globe find themselves using the same word to mean different things. “Sustainability” has become shorthand for mitigating and...

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Article

Thriving Amid Disruptive Megatrends: FCLTGlobal Joins IFSWF in Madrid

October 19, 2023

Last month in Madrid, FCLTGlobal led a discussion at the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) on navigating disruptive megatrends.

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Article

Resilient investors are ready for surprise costs

May 12, 2023

It’s trendy to bemoan the fact that a third of Americans don’t have enough slack in their monthly budget to cover a surprise $400 expense....

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Article

Investing in Business vs. Trading in Paper

March 27, 2023

“Do we mean to hold businesses or paper?” The question is one of the most compelling to emerge from Davos this year because its implications are...

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Article

In 2021, Companies Sidelined Investments in Resilience

November 15, 2022

With short-term pressures mounting, companies and investors are finding it more challenging than ever to focus on the long term.

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Article

Dear Global Corporate Executive – Stay the Course

August 2, 2022

FCLTGlobal reminds companies and their leaders that, despite the chop your ships are weathering, those who stay the course through uncertainty will be the ones...

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Article

When Boards Should – and Should Not – Lead on Risk Management

October 21, 2021

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Article

Institutional Investors Will Be Key to the U.S. Infrastructure Plan

August 23, 2021

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Article

Capital Markets Solutions for A Sustainable Future

April 29, 2021

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Article

Implementing Multi-Horizon Investment Risk Measures

March 30, 2021

On March 24th, 2021, FCLTGlobal led a risk focus group alongside Alison Taylor and Brian Harward, a team of behavioral scientists from Ethical Systems, an...

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Corporate Timeline

Article

Corporate investment timelines are shrinking – is that a bad thing?

March 4, 2021

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Balancing Act

Article

New Phase of Research on Investment Risk Addresses Long-term Risk Measurements

February 1, 2021

Through the second phase of our risk research, FCLTGlobal hopes to learn from members why implementation is not happening, what is needed to increase it,...

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Article

Amid Low Interest Rates, Risky Asset Classes on the Rise

January 25, 2021

In a decade-long low interest rate environment, riskier asset classes have seen accelerated asset gathering as savers chase yield.

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Article

CFA Institute Settles Debate on Investment Reporting 

November 13, 2020

CFA’s Director of Investment Performance joins webinar on risk management to discuss order of performance reporting. 

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Article

Recap: Investing for Resilience: The Future of Capital Flows in the Asia-Pacific Region

August 24, 2020

A panel of global investors discusses market recovery and planning for volatility.

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Article

Communication key in pension risk management through coronavirus and beyond

May 26, 2020

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Article

Recap: 2020 Forum on Risk

May 6, 2020

On 30 April, FCLTGlobal held a webinar for a peer-to-peer discussion on managing risk to support long-term value creation, specifically in light of the ongoing...

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Article

Five tactics for managing portfolio risk

April 7, 2020

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Article

Long-term Management in a Pandemic

March 30, 2020

Thinking about the long term in the midst of a global pandemic may seem counter-intuitive, or just downright impossible. Here are some top suggestions for...

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Article

Future Fund’s Will Hetherton on Long-term Risk for Investors

November 11, 2019

FCLTGlobal's process for developing tools to address long-term investment risk includes interviewing risk management experts.

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2019 Forum on Risk

Article

Recap: 2019 Forum on Risk

July 9, 2019

On 30 May, FCLTGlobal Members and guests met in Boston for a peer-to-peer discussion on managing risk to support long-term value creation. The Forum on Risk:...

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Article

How ATP Manages Investment Risk

May 10, 2019

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Article

How to Talk About Portfolio Risk

April 1, 2019

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Article

Interview: BlackRock’s Emily Haisley on Risk for Long-Term Investors

October 18, 2018

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Article

Interview: State Street Global Exchange Experts Speak on Long-Term Risk

October 9, 2018

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Article

Interview: Roland Kupers on Risk for Long-Term Investors

September 25, 2018

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Article

University of Toronto Publishes Study With FCLTGlobal on Risk Assessment Practices

September 10, 2018

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Podcasts

Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Brookfield’s Connor Teskey on Digitalization, Decarbonization, Deglobalization

April 29, 2025

"The capital requirements to capture the growth opportunities in these trends are so significant that […] they outstrip what is available from governments and […]...

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: AXA CEO Thomas Buberl on The Evolution of Insurance: From Response to Prevention

February 18, 2025

“If we continue to focus on prevention, if prevention becomes a mandatory part of an insurance solution, then climate can be properly priced again and...

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Blackstone’s Jon Gray on Finding Opportunities in Market Shifts and Global Megatrends

October 2, 2023

“If you really think about investing as pattern recognition, you see a bunch of dots and you connect them, and you see them before other...

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: OTPP’s Jonathan Hausman on Long-term Investing in a Changing World

September 12, 2023

OTPP's Jonathan Hausman joins the podcast to explore the firm's focus on long-term strategies and their perspectives on the ever-evolving global economy.

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Lucy Parker, Brunswick Group

June 5, 2023

Lucy Parker, Strategic Advisor at the Brunswick Group, and co-author of “The Activist Leader: A New Mindset for Doing Business” joins the Going Long podcast...

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Seth Alexander, MITIMCo

April 3, 2022

“If we can find the Warren Buffet of a given area, it doesn't really matter what asset class it is. That type of talent applied...

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Matt Whineray, New Zealand Super Fund

November 8, 2021

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Christian Sinding, EQT

October 25, 2021

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Podcast

Going Long Podcast: Chow Kiat Lim, GIC

April 19, 2021

 “Long-termism is our national ethos in Singapore.” Chow Kiat Lim, CEO of GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, joins the podcast to share his views on...

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In the News

In the News

The three Rs of investing: Risk, return, and resilience

October 20, 2022

Many of today’s investors have been drilled in the basics of return and risk – or volatility, the traditional definition of “risk.” We know that...

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In the News

Risk management in a time of crisis

April 14, 2020

Markets in disarray are where long-term investors make their money. Investing countercyclically – when many others without long-term liquidity are selling – is a clear...

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Toolkits

Toolkit

Crisis Conversation Guide

August 26, 2020

FCLTGLOBAL has developed this guide as an extension of the Risk Conversation Guide published in Balancing Act: Managing Risk Across Multiple Time Horizons.

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Toolkit

R&D Scenario Engine

August 9, 2020

An interactive R&D Scenario Engine that allows corporate boards, executives, and risk committees to determine their optimal R&D allocation between short, mid, and long-range projects....

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Risk Conversation Guide

Toolkit

Risk Conversation Guide for Boards and Staff

December 21, 2018

To facilitate discussions about managing portfolios to both meet long-term objectives and weather short-term risks, FCLTGlobal, with input from its members, has developed this Risk...

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Videos

Video

Taking Action to Navigate a World in Transition: Balancing Resilience and Agility to Deliver Long-term Performance

January 9, 2023

How does resilience factor into long-term performance?

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Video

Webinar: FCLTCompass 2022 – Long-Term Strategies Amid Uncertainty

December 7, 2022

This year's edition of FCLTCompass looks at the economics of recovery and observes how companies, investors, and national economies plan for a return to normalcy....

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Navigating Crises As Long-term Investors

January 5, 2022

Crises happen. Long-term investors are more exposed to them simply by virtue of their long holding periods. Their task cannot be to avoid crises, so...

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Video

Balancing Act: Investment Voices on Managing Multi-Horizon Risk

January 5, 2022

FCLTGlobal’s eight-episode risk webinar series encourages implementation of long-term tools from Balancing Act: Managing Risk Across Multiple Time Horizons and offers continuing professional education for...

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Video

FCLTCompass: The Economics of Resilience

December 9, 2021

On 9 December, FCLTGlobal hosted a webinar for the launch of the 2021 edition of FCLTCompass, our annual report and interactive dashboard that analyzes 10+...

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Video

Highlights: From Risk to Opportunity in Innovative and Adaptive Markets with Andy Lo

May 17, 2021

In this final episode of FCLTGlobal’s risk-webinar series, we turn our attention to why long-term institutions manage investment risk in a multi-horizon way: because it...

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Video

Highlights: Risk Webinar Series, Navigating Crises As Long-term Investors

May 3, 2021

Crises happen. Long-term investors are more exposed to them simply by virtue of their long holding periods. Their task cannot be to avoid crises, so...

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: From Risk to Opportunity in Innovative and Adaptive Markets

April 30, 2021

In this final episode of FCLTGlobal’s risk-webinar series, we turn our attention to why long-term institutions manage investment risk in a multi-horizon way: because it...

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Video

Highlights: Risk Webinar Series, Income Volatility and Distribution

March 4, 2021

Forthcoming research examines societal income distribution in the statistical sense – such as its volatility, skewness, and kurtosis – and relates it to the macro...

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Ramifications of Investment Risk Management on Income Volatility and Distribution

February 10, 2021

Forthcoming research examines societal income distribution in the statistical sense – such as its volatility, skewness, and kurtosis – and relates it to the macro...

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Time Diversification – Patience or Complacency?

January 14, 2021

“Time diversification” is a principle that an investor’s statistical probability of loss decreases as the holding period increases. Long-term investors may overinterpret this statistical principle...

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Video

Highlights: Risk Webinar Series, Time Diversification

January 13, 2021

“Time diversification” is a principle that an investor’s statistical probability of loss decreases as the holding period increases. Long-term investors may overinterpret this statistical principle...

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Video

Highlights: Risk Webinar Series, Climate

November 11, 2020

Climate change is the largest systemic risk in the view of many long-term investors, and investors are pioneering ways to address this risk, including work...

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Climate – From Uncertainty to Risk

November 11, 2020

Climate change is the largest systemic risk in the view of many long-term investors, and investors are pioneering ways to address this risk, including work...

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Video

Long-term Risk Management: Neuberger Berman

October 26, 2020

An interview with Diedre Ypma, Managing Director at Neuberger Berman

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Default Time Horizons in GIPS Compliance and FRM Certification

October 14, 2020

Standard-setting and certification represent defaults of a profession, and for the investment risk profession these functions belong to the CFA Institute’s Global Investment Performance Standards...

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Video

Highlights: Risk Webinar Series, GIPS Compliance and FRM Certification

October 14, 2020

Standard-setting and certification represent defaults of a profession, and for the investment risk profession these functions belong to the CFA Institute’s Global Investment Performance Standards...

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Video

Highlights: Risk Webinar Series, Time Horizons (with State Street Associates)

October 12, 2020

For many investors, asset allocation begins with an estimate of volatility, producing the most stable portfolio of assets that still can earn the target return....

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Data Inputs for Long-term Asset Allocation

September 9, 2020

For many investors, asset allocation begins with an estimate of volatility, producing the most stable portfolio of assets that still can earn the target return....

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Video

Highlights: Risk Over Time with State Street Associates

September 9, 2020

For many investors, asset allocation begins with an estimate of volatility, producing the most stable portfolio of assets that still can earn the target return....

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Video

Recap: Investing for Resilience: The Future of Capital Flows in the Asia-Pacific Region

August 24, 2020

A panel of global investors discusses market recovery and planning for volatility.

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Video

Risk Webinar Series: Managing Investment Risk in Long-term Mandates

August 12, 2020

In the first installment of our new Risk Webinar Series, Ahren Estabrooks (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan), Carol Geremia (MFS), and Daniel Godfrey (Federated Hermes) discussed...

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Video

Member Insights: Long-term Risk Management

March 23, 2020

Interviews from our members on how they assess, manage, and plan for long- and short-term portfolio risk.

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Video

Long-term Risk Management: Future Fund

November 5, 2019

An interview with Will Hetherton, Head of Public Affairs & Strategic Relations at Future Fund, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund.

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Video

Long-term Risk Management: CPP Investments

July 9, 2019

An interview with with Rocky Ieraci and Steven Richards from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

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Video

Long-term Risk Management: Washington State Investment Board

July 9, 2019

An interview with with Fred Gjerstad from Washington State Investment Board.

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