Book excerpt: From a former World Bank Executive and renowned investor—a detailed roadmap to adding consistent, sustainable value to globally diversified portfoliosFor many investors, alpha is akin to the Holy Grail. Risk-adjusted returns above benchmarks—alpha—are particularly challenging to achieve even with a sound strategy. Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg is an expert on alpha. Over the past four decades, she and her team consistently exceeded benchmarks and delivered appreciable value added on their investments. In Delivering Alpha, she reveals the principles and methods employed in her investment strategies, along with insights drawn from her personal life. She shows how timing, market awareness, price, and relative value to the investor are critical drivers of effective investment decisions. Ochoa-Brillembourg also debunks common investment myths that often trip up both new and experienced investors.Delivering Alpha provides practical advice on: •Creating successful decision-making governance to reduce errors and correctly assign responsibilities and incentives •Dealing thoughtfully and effectively with governance challenges•Building the right policy portfolio, specifying desired allocations to each asset class•Structuring asset classes and adding value-oriented or other opportunistic “tilts”•Measuring and managing risks, avoiding common mistakes, and moreLight on theory and serious on practice, this book is the culmination of a lifetime’s experience from one of the most successful women in finance. It’s essential reading for investors looking to add sustainable value to globally diversified portfolios.