by admin | Dec 29, 2009 | GIPS, Global Investment Performance Standards
When commenting on someone’s writing I often recommend using the active voice. A recent example may help. A client sent us their GIPS(R) Policies & Procedures document to review. It included the following: “there are few industry-accepted standards for...
by admin | Dec 15, 2009 | attribution, GIPS, Global Investment Performance Standards, Returns, risk
One question that occasionally surfaces is how big a performance department should be. There is no simple answer and it’s difficult to decide by simply doing a comparison with other firms. Some key points: all firms are different. Okay, maybe a bit of hyperbole,...
by admin | Dec 11, 2009 | GIPS, Global Investment Performance Standards, Returns
Here, I’m addressing cash flows from a return calculation perspective. First, recall that in two weeks we’ll have a requirement for GIPS(R) compliant firms to revalue portfolios for large cash flows, where the firm decides what “large”...
by admin | Dec 10, 2009 | cash flows, GIPS, Global Investment Performance Standards
Perhaps it’s partly because “significant” and “large” can be viewed synonymously that we find confusion regarding how firms can handle these within GIPS(R). One of our clients was clearly thinking that “significant” means the...
by admin | Dec 9, 2009 | GIPS, Global Investment Performance Standards
I’m still a bit befuddled by the GIPS(R) error correction guidance, which goes into effect in three weeks. I guess I’m relieved that I’m not alone, but I’d feel a lot better if it was crystal clear. The guidance provides for four levels of...
by admin | Dec 4, 2009 | GIPS, verification
As promised, I commented further on the topic of verification firms avoiding “field work” in our newsletter. A colleague from another verification provider responded with the following: “I was reading your most recent article regarding verifiers who...
