CFA Institute Blogs
Ten years ago investment community luminaries met to discuss the equity risk premium. Now in a new Research Foundation of CFA Institute monograph state of the art thinking about the equity risk premium is presented for the benefit of investors worldwide. Read more
Leave a CommentLower expectations for economic growth and capital markets returns stem from increasing indebtedness and deficits, as well as from demographic trends in the “New Normal.” Jason Hsu discusses the implications for passive index strategies and cap-weighted index investing and talks about how asset owners and investing institutions view these issues in Europe and Asia. Read more
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One consequence of recent well-publicized frauds targeting even the most sophisticated of investors (think Madoff, Stanford, et al) is a sharper focus on investor due diligence review of asset managers. The old “Three Ps” (people, process, performance) have given way to increasingly expansive investigations of investment capabilities and the character of firms’ principals.
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Researchers at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland, made a splash recently with the “discovery” of the Higgs boson — a subatomic particle that creates a vital link between matter and anti-matter. For researchers at CFA Institute, the Higgs boson discovery is interesting because it parallels a great challenge facing the world of finance: derivatives. You see, in finance, derivatives contracts are kind of like the Higgs boson as they contain the vital link between money and anti-money. Read more
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Shareholder concerns about a too-cozy relationship between GE and it’s longtime auditor, KPMG, earns a finger wag from the SEC but not much else. Read more
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The world is flat, or so people thought, until enterprising Greek philosophers challenged the notion in the 6th century BC. More than 2,000 years later, Ferdinand Magellan made a practical demonstration of that fact when he circumnavigated the globe. Although stocks in 2011 sailed through periods of sunshine, wind, and rain, many equities markets ended up flat just the same. Nonetheless, some investors proved that it is possible to make money in this market — and they did so writing covered calls. Read more
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Following a tumultuous year for global capital markets that saw the longest-ever insider trading sentence and the Olympus Corp. accounting scandal, public trust in the financial services sector has taken another hit, according to the findings of the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer. Read more
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At the second annual India Investment Conference in Mumbai earlier this month, Lord Meghnad Desai, emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, delivered an eloquent presentation on “The Rediscovered India and the Road Ahead.” Read more
Leave a CommentHenry Azzam, chairman of the MENA region at Deutsche Bank, will discuss capital markets in the Middle East at the Third Annual Middle East Investment Conference Read more
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Social media is here to stay, but the investment community is still waiting on a clear-cut set of regulations on how to use it. What’s allowed? What isn’t? What’s next? Advisers and investors have plenty of questions, but so far, they’ve gotten few regulatory answers. Read more
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