Are we there yet? Are we there yet? We gold bugs are like little kids on a trip to the zoo; we just can’t wait to get there. “There” being the elusive point in time when the gold mania (no, make that Gold Mania) hits and everyone and their cat will want to invest in the yellow metal...more...

Due diligence can be distilled down to two crucial questions: Do we like the strategy that this manager employs? Does this manager execute the strategy well....more...

Lloyd Blankfein commented in February 2008 that there were 12 AAA-rated companies in the world but 64,000 AAA-rated structures. The outsourcing of critical analysis and risk management to rating agencies and others needs to be re-thought. Institutional investors are no exception to this....more...

Contrary to common belief, oil may not be the world's most valuable commodity. By virtue of the laws of supply and demand, it can be convincingly argued that "productive farmland" holds the world's most valuable commodity title...more...

It’s no secret that target date fund performance in 2008 was a disappointment. In particular 2010 funds lost more than 20% on average. But averages don’t tell the whole story. The reality is that target date fund allocations to equities are all over the map, so there was a wide range of 2010 fund performance in 2008...more...

The first and last requirement of good investment management is that the interest of the investor and the interest of the manager be one and the same. At the outset, the levels of opportunity to be pursued...more...

We enter 2009 amid the most severe market correction since the 1930s. Although we do not believe the global economy will slip into a depression, the duration of the current downturn relies upon the effectiveness of massive, concerted governmental fiscal and monetary measures...more...

The credit crisis has caused a once in a lifetime reduction in the market. Through out all the pain and turmoil there exists a silver lining for investors who avoid reflexive redemptions and stay with their fund. The upside to investor loyalty is greater tax efficiency, lower investment management cost, and creative fee arrangements...more...

The domino effect from the collapse of the global credit bubble impacted portfolios and strategies of all types. The flight to safety/sell everything emotion of panicked investors has even...more...

According to the World Bank, India has been in the top 10% of all countries growth performance since the 1980’s and has increased its share in world GDP (PPP) from 4.3% in 1991 to almost 6% in 2005. The Indian economy is in the midst of a decades long three phase progression...more...

To the people who entrust them with their money, investment managers are much like employees, employees who are paid very well for the prospect of growing the investor's hard-earned savings...more...

When Barrack Obama began his race for the White House his rally cry was to get us out of Iraq as soon as possible. That morphed into a call for change from the Bush Policies of the previous eight years. Finally, right before the election it moved towards fixing our economy. If the President Elect does what he originally campaigned on, then some of his pro-regulation, pro-tax policies could damage our economy over the long term. During his campaign he spoke about how important it was to tax those deemed rich, while slightly lowering taxes for everyone else...more...

There are certain events that happen in your lifetime that you always remember, such as getting married, the birth of a child, etc. Experiencing the worst market decline ever is probably not an event you want to have on your list. These are definitely historic times...more...

As the world adjusts to a hyper-connected and transparent global market spurred by the Internet, each industry encounters its own opportunities and challenges. To merely survive, industry players must keep pace with change...more...

No, and it is ludicrous to even make the comparison. We are not even officially in a recession yet, let alone a depression. The word depression is used perpetually in the media to describe our economy. These comparisons are irresponsible and only do more to...more...

The stock market just endured the worst October since the crash of 1987. It was slammed by what Alan Greenspan called a “once in a century credit tsunami”. He said it shattered some of the models he has relied on over the past 40 years...more...

We hear it all the time. “Put your money where your mouth is,” “Skin in the game,” and, “Eat your own dog food...more...

Every organization needs quality leadership to be successful in a highly competitive world...more...

Investors continue to turn away firms like [WatchMaker Capital Management] in order to have the opportunity to lose millions (and billions!) of capital investing with bigger funds overseen by managers with pretty pedigrees...more...

Monday’s trading session continued its wild ride once again. The Dow started off deep in the red, shot up nearly 250 points midway through, and returned far below any gain with 203 points in the red at the closing bell, not reflecting much consumer confidence...more...

Distressed Debt is starting to make a lot of noise in the alternative investment arena and with everyone jumping on the boat; it might be ready to tip...more...

With the absolute implosion of global financial markets, the investment world is learning that alternative investments need to be private. I don’t think there has ever been a better illustration of a “pull down” effect within the last 70 years...more...

A lot more attention is being given to the Dow Jones Stock Index as of late. With its wild fluctuations over these past few weeks and the constant news coverage it seems to attract, the Dow is hard to ignore...more...

More than just a mere liquidity or credit crisis, the current financial storm represents the death throes of the old global economic order, and perhaps the birth pains of
a new one...more...

American College kids are apparently carrying on the legacy of their parents, financing as much as possible and taking advantage of every bit of credit which lenders are willing to extend...more...

With emerging markets beginning to slow, investors are concerned that these once high-flying economies may fall victim to the slowdown in the U.S., Japan, and Europe...more...

There are many biases in peer groups, some of which can be controlled. But one obscure bias just won’t go away, and it’s raising havoc with investment manager evaluations...more...

In a July 15, 2008 interpretative letter, the SEC staff clarified that Rule 206(4)-3 (the “Cash Solicitation Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) does not apply to a registered investment adviser’s cash payments to a person solely...more...

Inflation is everywhere. Not just at the petrol pump, at the supermarket, or in inflation features on the front pages of newspapers, these worries are also growing amidst policy makers and consumers, leading to concerns being voiced ever more loudly...more...

In recent months the dollar has hit historic lows, and we are witnessing the results...more...

The first and last requirement of good investment management is to have the interest of the investor and the interest of the manager be one and the same...more...

New or Emerging Fund Managers, defined loosely as those managers who are less than 36 months old,  appear to outperform older more established managers by up to 400 basis points per annum...more...

This week, Part 5 looks at the positives that arise from high commodity prices, and the need for the financial services industry to acknowledge the imbalances it has wrought in the commodity markets...more...

This week, Part 4 looks at what constitutes market manipulation in commodities and the securitization of commodities...more...

This week, Part 3 looks at current causes of pricing issues in hard assets, and offers a brief, recent history of economic problems related to OTC derivatives...more...

This week, Part 2 looks at modern finance based on an assumption called “rational expectations equilibrium,” and the financial models that are derived from it...more...

The mysterious case of the commodity conundrum is sure to illicit passionate debate on either side of the equation – is the commodity boom due to speculation or fundamentals? By the time you read this, a battle in this dispute will have taken place on April 22, 2008 with the CFTC roundtable on agricultural markets...more...

It’s no secret that the economy is in a slump, and that Americans are keeping a closer eye on how much they spend. But while shoppers may be more cautious, they are still hitting the malls and going online for bargains...more...

To steal a line from the Bard, to regulate or not to regulate, that is the question—when it comes to hedge funds, that is. Think back to the recent SEC efforts—that were rejected by the court in late 2006—to register hedge fund managers. Since then, an impassioned debate on whether and how to regulate the industry has ensued...more...

This speech was prepared for the IQPC Base Metals Investment Summit 2008 in New York City on April 2, 2008. For a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, contact Managed Account Research, Inc., Tel: (800)308-1495...more...

Max King, Strategist at Investec Asset Management, gives his personal view on current market turmoil...more...

The word on the street is recession. In spite of the increasingly present indicators showing the U.S. economy’s 2+ quarters of economic decline, the word recession is used rarely and gingerly among skittish investors...more...

In response to last week’s cover story by Mark Kramer and Sarah Cooch on “The Power of Strategic Mission Investing”, CTS Strategic Investments has addressed the concerns and impediments associated with Mission Investing and public equities....more...

As an emerging investment management firm, CTS Strategic Investments, LLC has been gaining a great deal of traction and market responsiveness with the recent launch of our proprietary socially responsible investment (SRI) management solutions....more...

An-depth interview with Sharath Sury, CEO and founder of Chicago based S4, a multi family office, reveals that, contrary to popular opinion, active managers, particularly hedge funds, aren’t generating the precious alpha they are highly compensated for...more...

To steal a line from the Bard, to regulate or not to regulate, that is the question—when it comes to hedge funds, that is. Think back to the recent SEC efforts—that were rejected by the court in late 2006—to register hedge fund managers. Since then, an impassioned debate on whether and how to regulate the industry has ensued...more...

Following record high yield issuance earlier this year, primarily due to leveraged buyouts (LBOs), junl bonds have experienced a liquidity crisis since July after news. This resulted the sub-prime sector malaise and the high profile meltdown of two Bear Stearns hedge funds...more...

James Stuart, COO of Ativo Capital rebuts Robbie Robertson’s piece “Fiduciary Responsibility Supersedes Politics When Selecting Emerging” from our inaugural issue in May 2007.more...

In the first article of this three-part series about managed futures we alluded to concerns about the intricacies of adept CTA performance evaluation. This article further explores that topic.more...

One of the main attractions of emerging managers to plan sponsors and fund-of-funds platforms is their freedom to manage without the restrictions that often accumulate inside a corporation.more...

Many of us who manage absolute return investments have wracked our brains trying to figure out why so many institutional investors are infinitely comfortable allowing equity and fixed income allocations to dominate their portfolios.more...

Despite political posturing, former trustee and president of the $ 1.2 billion Professional Firefighters fund only "sees green" when it comes to selecting emerging managers, who are minority owned. Robbie Robertson has seen posturing filter down to the pension boards, as to whom they select as money managers or consultants, but at the end of the day, he only considers the needs of the fund.more...