Building strong foundations: Effective use of time

Effective Focusing of Time and Real-Time Decision-Making were two of twelve defining business traits identified as being shared by the most successfully governed institutions in the landmark study of investment governance carried out in 2007 by Roger Urwin (Willis Towers Watson) and Professor Gordon Clark (Oxford University). This brief paper has been designed to introduce some of the initiatives that can be undertaken by asset owners to ensure that investment-related decisions are being made by the right people and at the right time within their organisations.

Specifications of roles and responsibilities, appropriate delegation authorities and well considered, adaptable decision rules are all powerful enablers of swift, more efficient decision-making that are covered in this paper. We also explain the importance of the strategic dialogue and disciplined oversight responsibilities that apply to the Board/Investment Committee in overseeing the management team or outsourced provider where delegations are in place. Finally, a brief case study highlighting how we have been able to assist a client in clearly developing and specifying its investment decision rights is included.