Asset allocation seems to be on the minds of many investors these days, and it’s no surprise why. Many studies suggest that the way in which money is distributed across sectors and financial instruments is a primary driver of return volatility. As investors start thinking about putting capital to work in 2010, many will also be re-assessing the strategies they employed earlier in the decade.

Ryan Mattox, director, North America, with Institutional Real Estate, Inc., spoke with four industry experts — Susan Hudson-Wilson, Ron Kaiser, Glenn Mueller and Josh Scoville — to get their takes on modern portfolio theory and what it means for asset allocation today.

The portfolios of institutional investors have shifted quite a bit during the latest downturn. Is the way we look at asset allocation going to stay the same, does it need to be tweaked, or is it going to completely change?

Ron Kaiser: I’ve spent 40 years now in the in