Pensions & Investments (P&I) and the Alternative Investments Forum (AIF) have formed a joint venture creating a global think tank to educate and inform institutional investors about how best to invest their portfolios. The venture is called the Institutional Investments Forum (IIF).

IIF will use the thought leadership platforms of P&I and AIF have built with public and corporate pension plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, large family offices and sovereign wealth funds.

IIF will have an advisory board chaired by a Harvard Business School professor and will include representatives such as leading academicians and economists, investment board members, senior investment staff and investment consultants.

The venture will be launched s on December 1, 2009 in New York City.

IIF's first event will be held in New York City on January 12-14, 2010. The event will feature roundtable discussions among investment board members, staff, managers and consultants about portfolio-level concerns and the investment outlook for various alternative asset classes with the focus on day two of the event on educating investment board members about current investment issues.