There are two words jousting in my mind: leadership and courage. I use "jousting" deliberately. Leadership and courage should go hand in hand, but more often than not, they compete against one another. And courage rarely wins out.
In the latest edition of the In Practice series, Mark Harrison, CFA, and Phil Davis summarize recent research into whether buying US equities that are underpriced based on simple fundamental-to-price ratios yields better performance than investing in broad market indexes.
Economics for Independent Thinkers is useful to practitioners who make economic forecasts. Investment strategist Daniel Nevins, CFA, recounts becoming a skeptic about the application of quantitative methods to economics and about standard prediction methods, such as the lagging nature of consumer confidence surveys. He especially disdains economists who strive to make reality fit their models.
"Parallel Worlds," one of the four potential scenarios envisioned in the "Future State of the Investment Profession" study, anticipates the rise of populism, a reduction in the size of the middle class, and a decrease in social mobility. For a better understanding of how this scenario could affect the future of the investment management industry, Robert Stammers, CFA, spoke with Giuseppe Ballocchi, CFA.
Much of financial planning focuses on retirement. But what if your client isn’t planning to retire? Barbara Stewart, CFA, explores the question.
Julia VanDeren has been thinking about resilience. Not just in the face of disaster, but in careers as well. In this edition of Weekend Reads, she shares two key components of resilience and some things you can do to become more resilient.
William Birdthistle provides a witty description of mutual fund design and categorizes its imperfections entertainingly, offering more palatable alternatives. This slender volume is a welcome addition to the library of the professional and retail investor alike.
What is finance, where does it come from, and why does it matter? William N. Goetzmann addressed these questions in his presentation at the CFA Institute: 62nd Financial Analysts Seminar, leading participants on a tour through financial history.
Interest in "factor investing" reached an all-time high in May, according to Google Trends. So Nicolas Rabener and his associates analyzed factor valuations using fundamental metrics and contrasted these current valuations with historical averages as a method to determine factor attractiveness.
Stuck in a career rut? Learn how to get back on the open road.