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Explainers

Coverage, charts, video and research on Explainers for universal owners.

Latest in Explainers
Private Markets

The Denominator Effect, Explained

Why falling public markets can leave pension funds and endowments 'overallocated' to private equity without buying a single new asset — and what allocators actually do about it.

UAO Editorial · Jun 10, 2026
Asset Allocation

What Is an OCIO (Outsourced CIO)?

How institutions delegate their portfolios to an outsourced CIO, why the model grew into a multi-trillion-dollar market, and what they give up in return.

UAO Editorial · Jun 10, 2026
Private Markets

What Is Private Credit? An Allocator's Guide

How non-bank lending became a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, why pensions and sovereign funds keep allocating to it, and where the risks sit.

UAO Editorial · Jun 10, 2026
Pension Funds

Liability-Driven Investing (LDI), Explained

LDI matches pension assets to pension promises. How it works, why leveraged versions broke in the UK in 2022, and what allocators learned.

UAO Editorial · Jun 8, 2026
Institutional Investing

The Endowment Model (Yale Model), Explained

Pioneered at Yale, the endowment model trades liquidity for higher long-run returns through private equity, venture and real assets. How it works and where it strains.

UAO Editorial · Jun 8, 2026
Sovereign Wealth Funds

The Norwegian Model of Investing, Explained

Low cost, broad diversification, near-index public-market exposure and active ownership: how Norway's sovereign fund became a template for long-horizon investing.

UAO Editorial · Jun 8, 2026
Pension Funds

The World's Largest Pension Funds

Who the biggest pension funds are, how much they manage, and why pension capital is concentrating into a handful of giants.

UAO Editorial · Jun 8, 2026
Sovereign Wealth Funds

Sovereign Wealth Fund vs Pension Fund: Key Differences

Both are giant long-horizon investors, but they answer to different owners and different liabilities. How sovereign wealth funds and pension funds actually differ.

UAO Editorial · Jun 8, 2026
Sovereign Wealth Funds

How Do Sovereign Wealth Funds Make Money?

How sovereign wealth funds are funded, where they invest, and how they turn national savings into multi-decade returns.

UAO Editorial · Jun 8, 2026
The Daily Brief

The morning briefing for the people who allocate long-horizon capital.

Research, charts, video and podcast analysis for the institutions investing at the scale of the world.