Institutional Investor gathered an esteemed group of endowment and pension fund Chief Investment Officers for a mid-year roundtable on the markets, with very frank and interesting commentary on a number of hot-button issues including the challenges of investing in a low interest rate environment, the role of hedge funds in a portfolio context and of course, active vs. passive – all topics we love discussing!

At Cidel, we spend a lot of time understanding our client’s objectives, and that means asking a lot of questions. You can’t develop truly customized solutions if you don’t. One of the biggest mistakes we can make, however, is asking overly complex questions designed to make us appear smarter than we are. The reality is that we learn more from simple questions, and are often afraid or too proud to ask them. Paul Hanson has written an outstanding piece on the merits of simplicity. We commit to taking this approach and encourage you to do so as well when you are meeting with us. There are no stupid questions!