An increasing number of institutional investors have adopted a total portfolio approach (TPA) as a response to the weaknesses of more traditional strategic asset allocation (SAA)-based methodologies. We believe the current crisis will reinforce this trend, as it is probably marking a paradigm shift in financial markets. This shift could be as important as the change in US monetary policy brought in by Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker at the beginning of the 1980s, which led to a long period of disinflation, lower interest rates and high asset returns.