It's been a long haul, but K. Daniel Libby, investment manager for IBM Corp., Stamford, Conn., may finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Mr. Libby, a co-chair of the Stable Value Investment Association Task Force, hopes for industry consensus on a new framework for evaluating stable value portfolios by the end of the year.
"IBM has been addressing this issue for a long time," he said.
The new framework, which will be market valuation-based instead of the traditional book value-based, is controversial in an industry that prides itself on the stability and safety in investing.
A trailblazer in the stable value community, Mr. Libby has been pleased to see some managers embrace the idea of comparing portfolios on a more level playing field.
Money managers as well as consultants have worked on the 20-member task force, which began with 12 people about two years ago.
Kelley Fairbank, senior consultant with Frank Russell Co., Tacoma, Wash., is one of the group's new members.
Her main concern is with gathering the appropriate data once a market value formula is agreed upon. The industry will be "at the mercy of what is stored and what isn't," she said -- specific data needed for the calculations is not always kept after book valuations are done for benchmarking purposes.
Although members of the task force hope to resurrect at least four quarters of information using the new formula, industry leaders may just calculate the values of stable value portfolios on a forward-looking basis, depending on what information is available from managers, she said.
Mr. Libby said one of the most important recommendations the group will need to make is how to celebrate the new valuation method.
