The National Strategic Investment Dialogue, 2006

The National Strategic Investment Dialogue (NSID) is an annual national series of discussions among fiduciaries and leaders of the investment community to address issues of vital importance to institutional investors. During 2006, the focus of the program was:

Reinventing the Portfolio:
Toward a New Investment Paradigm

The National Strategic Investment Dialogue (NSID), a series of two separate day-long discussions held in Washington D.C. and San Francisco, brought together selected groups of respected fiduciaries and leaders of the investment community. The purpose was to examine and debate the challenges and complexities and innovation associated with managing portfolios.

During each session, program participants explored issues driving the sea change that is transforming the investment world. Views on semantic risk and the potential missteps from interpreted differences in our words exposed challenges we face with terms used in our everyday activities. The proliferation of next generation security and strategy offerings also served to highlight the increasing complexity of portfolio management. In the end, all of this amplifies the governance and risk management challenges for investors and fiduciaries. The 2006 program systematically explored these critical areas of interest via the unique approach and format that made the 2004 and 2005 programs so rewarding.

Participants were culled from a variety of organizations and represented a broad range of investment professionals, including money managers, plan sponsors, foundation and endowment investors, board members, and third-party service providers. Collectively, the participants represented approximately three trillion dollars of pension, foundation, endowment and managed assets.