Is there a place for property in the multi-asset portfolio?

The case for property has typically rested on the application of modern portfolio theory (MPT), in that property has been shown to offer increased diversification benefits within a multi asset portfolio without hurting portfolio returns especially for lower risk portfolios. However this view is based upon the use of historic, usually appraisal based, data for property. Recent research suggests strongly that such data significantly underestimates the risk characteristics of property, because appraisals explicitly or implicitly smooth out much of the real volatility in property returns. This paper examines the portfolio diversification effects of including property in a multi-asset portfolio, using UK appraisal based (smoothed) data and several derived de-smoothed series. Having considered the effects of de-smoothing, we then consider the inclusion of a further low risk asset (cash) in order to investigate further whether property's place in a low risk portfolio is maintained. The conclusions of this study are that the previous supposed benefits of including property have been overstated. Although property may still have a place in a 'balanced' institutional portfolio, the case for property needs to be reassessed and not be based simplistically on the application of MPT.

A double-decker bus, an elephant and 300 Girl Guides: analyzing 'space' and 'place' in Blue Peter

This article draws upon Karen Lury's definitions of 'space' and 'place' in relation to the BBC children's programme Blue Peter (1958–present). Through an analysis of the Blue Peter studio over the past 53 years, Amanda Beauchamp highlights its evolution from a 'space' to a 'place' within the history of children's television. Her article considers how the Blue Peter studio's 'infinite nature' was achieved, alongside the role it played in creating the programme institution. She addresses the impact of major changes in the studio layout since 2005, when the studio went from being 'tardis-like' to a 'cosy cubbyhole'. Amanda concludes by questioning the impact that this change has had on programme identity and whether the 'place' that pre-2005 Blue Peter took 47 years to create has been compromised.

Place making in Hellenistic Athens: beyond decline and foreign patronage

The study of cities is integral to the study of the Hellenistic Age, the period bounded by the deaths of two legendary rulers: Alexander in 323 BC and Kleopatra in 30 BC. Modern scholarship has followed in the footsteps of Johann-Gustav Droysen, who coined the term 'Hellenistic' in the nineteenth century and associated it with the diffusion of Greek culture through the founding of new cities in the East by Alexander and his successors. Hellenistic Athens, traditionally discussed under the rubric of its Classical legacy and/or in contrast with thriving cities, such as Pergamon, has been presented as a backwater exemplifying the demise of the 'polis'. My objective in this paper is to criticise these negative sentiments by exploring how the built environment of Hellenistic Athens could potentially become an indicator of city vitality.