Practical analysis for investment professionals 
Risk on! This has been the investor battle cry since stocks bottomed out in the fall of 2011, and global equities have been on a tear ever since, with many major indices rallying 20% or more. Investors seem to be discounting signs of a resurgent U.S. economy, indications that the crisis in Europe may be contained, and a soft landing in China. Or maybe they are just fed up with the paltry yields offered by bonds. Read more
Leave a Comment
Evidence shows that the groundbreaking research on the importance of asset allocation has been poorly understood and widely misquoted. Practitioners of all stripes might benefit from a visit to the archives to better understand the evolution of asset allocation theory. Read more
16 Comments
Popular opinion holds that hedge funds are attracting large amounts of new assets, yet anecdotal evidence suggests that it is a tale of two capital-raising markets, with smaller hedge funds starving in comparison to their larger competitors. Read more
2 Comments
The big news for watchers of the wealthy (and U.S. elections) came in late January when Mitt Romney disclosed his tax returns for 2010. Not surprisingly, the presidential wannabe’s low effective tax rate prompted uproar and provided the news media with plenty of fodder. Read more
Leave a CommentPerformance attribution has become a standard requirement for institutional clients. This episode discusses practical issues selecting and implementing a fixed-income attribution system. The method requires a great deal of data and high-quality data management systems, but it could be the basis for a standard method of performance attribution in the fixed-income market. Read more
Leave a Comment
January 2012 will likely be remembered by investors as the month in which they stopped worrying about Europe and began discounting other issues. Read more
Leave a CommentTo say that last year was annus horribilis for the Indian economy is an understatement. With inflation above 9%, the Reserve Bank of India raised key interest rates several times only to see GDP growth projections drop to the 6%–7% range. Nonetheless, a panel of financial executives felt sure that with a few policy tweaks the year 2012 will be better than 2011. Read more
6 Comments
Unfortunately, stories of unethical behavior by both individuals and financial institutions continue to dominate the business news headlines. Insider trading and the integrity of asset managers’ performance reports have been major themes over the past few months. Read more
Leave a CommentThe famed hockey player Wayne Gretzky once said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Frontier markets — especially those in Africa — are where alpha is going to be. Read more
2 Comments