Alfred Slager | CFA Institute

Personal Details

Bio

Experienced professor, pension fund trustee and established author with a strong background in the international pension sector and investment management industry. Proven professional skills in asset management, financial risk, risk management, business strategy, investment governance and fiduciary roles. I combine evidence-based policies and strategic choices with a practical touch; how does it really help the fund and the participant?

My extensive practical experience with a strong sense of board room dynamics makes me a regularly consulted advisor to pension funds, focusing how to use that constructively. Furthermore I am a frequently invited speaker at international events on pensions and asset management.

Current position (3)

Trustee

SPH, Pension Fund General Practicioners, Netherlands

Professor Pension Fund Management

TIAS Business School, Tilburg University

Vice President

CFA Society VBA Netherlands

Degrees (3)

PhD, Cum Laude

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

1999 to 2004

Macro Economics, MSc

Erasmus University, Rotterdam

1987 to 1994

Post Graduate Investment Management

CFA-VBA Netherlands, VU University

1996 to 1998

Presentations

Presentations (3)

Achieving Investment Excellence: the fundamental concepts every pension fund trustee should know

Pension funds are investors with a long-term horizon, and responsible for the financial well-being of millions of customers worldwide. But little is known what is needed to achieve long-term investment success. Is it size, resilience, a knack for innovation, knowledgeable staff, a seasoned board of trustees, or none of these?
Regardless of fund size, you can realize greater returns, simply by grasping recent research insights, improving your understanding of how the board designs, guides and monitors investment. This presentation outlines the fundamental concepts every pension fund trustee should know. Embrace the opportunity inherent in the trustee role and begin focusing the investment agenda on what really matters.

Making successful investment decisions: the role of pension boards and investments committees

The investment committee is the best kept secret of successful institutional investors when making investment decisions, but their impact or effectiveness is not always clear.
Investment committees share the unique responsibility of making decisions on behalf of the current or future beneficiaries for decades to come. However, the environment in which committee members made these investment decisions has not been an easy one; in fact, it is difficult to imagine a more challenging environment.
So what are the best practices – and what are the worst practices to avoid? Recent research insights are combined with best practices from boards in this presentation, helping board members to shape investment committees and investment decisions to add value and make a real difference to beneficiaries.

Investment Beliefs: focusing the investment agenda on what really matters

Pension fund trustees worldwide carry responsibility for billions of assets under management. They all too frequently have to choose from a wide range of investment strategies and investment managers. The welfare of millions of participants is determined to a large degree by the choices that a few trustees and portfolio managers make. But what constitutes a good choice? Formulating investment beliefs bridges the wide gap between portfolio theory, daily investment practice and day-to-day management. If thoughtfully developed and diligently implemented, investment beliefs are essential to funds' long-term survival in the financial markets. The presentation presents a roadmap on how to formulate investment beliefs, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to successfully apply them in daily practice to help
help pension funds boost their chances for long-term success.