Risk Management
MBIA takes risk management to a level that exceeds that of most money management firms. This firm has a very strong corporate risk management oversight function in which employees from the insurance company (non-asset management employees) augment the internal risk management structure. These employees add an extra level of protection for MBIA clients. As part of its role, this oversight team performs continuous stress test analyses to assess risks surrounding interest rates, liquidity and specific securities, and to monitor guidelines/compliance. The team also performs routine stress tests, evaluating duration and convexity, among other risk factors.

Financial Engineering
MBIA is a market leader in the rapidly advancing and increasingly important field of financial engineering. Broadly speaking, “financial engineering” refers to the ability to understand, model and manipulate the risks inherent in various financial markets and instruments. Over the years, MBIA’s quantitative and risk management skills have been melded together, giving the firm the ability to customize levels of risk and return that few other firms can duplicate. These skills not only allow MBIA to be a market leader in some of the most advanced product areas such as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), structured investment vehicles (SIVs), and asset liability management (also referred to as “liability-driven investing”), but they allow MBIA the luxury of being able to tailor custom-designed solutions for its clients. As mentioned above, one of MBIA’s main objectives is to truly understand its clients’ risk tolerances. Once MBIA understands these risk tolerances, it can apply its unique ability to manipulate and manage risk through engineering so as to maximize return within the clients’ risk levels.

Credit Analysis
Based on it's belief that expert staff support is one of the keys to asset management success, MBIA makes a wealth of analytical and credit resources available to portfolio manager. The investment management team benefits from the work of seven dedicated analysts and 130 taxable and municipal bond analysts employed by MBIA Insurance Corporation. MBIA’s research analysts are organized by sector and by geographic region. Most of the research used in the investment management of MBIA portfolios is completed internally (proprietary research); however, internal research is supplemented with research from Wall Street firms as well as independent research organizations.