I have two things to confess, right from the start: #1 - no, this picture isn't of me #2 - this is quite an unusual blog post for me. Okay, so now that this is settled, let's move on. I, like many men, have been struggling with my weight for a long time. When I...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
True Confessions: my recent weight loss journey
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How a book on the EU and the relating of Homer’s “The Odyssey” made it’s way to this blog, relative to money-weighting
On the first day of this long July 4th weekend, I'm reading a book that is quite timely, which just came in: "Towards an Imperfect Union," by Dalibor Rohac. It's excellent, simply excellent, and I'm learning a great deal. The author includes the following: "The...
Why it’s okay to be “inconsistent” when reporting rates of return
I recently conducted a software certification for a software vendor. I found some issues with their application of rates of return, and we've been going back-and-forth on it. One issue that arose was my belief that money-weighting is the appropriate approach...
Passion for Performance Measurement
TSG often speaks about being passionate about performance measurement. Having passion for something is, we believe, a good thing. Passion for Music Before delving into the subject of passion for performance measurement, I thought I'd touch on passion in a...
Fundamentals of Performance Measurement: TOTALLY revamped!
Our Fundamentals of Performance Measurement class, formerly known as Introduction to Performance Measurement, has undergone a pretty significant "facelift," so to speak. It has taken me quite some time to get it done, although one is never actually ever done with a...
Rates of Return: if you can’t explain it, change it!
We've been asked by a client to construct a single day, fairly intensive class on rates of return. Much of the material for the class comes from our Fundamentals of Investment Performance class, which we've been teaching for nearly 18 years. As you'd expect,...
Cui bono: mixing a little Latin with performance measurement
How a Latin phrase makes its way into performance measurement On my way to conduct a GIPS(R) verification, I was listening to Buckley and Mailer: The Difficult Friendship That Shaped the Sixties, by Kevin M. Schultz. As the book's title suggests, it's about two...
New GIPS guidance statement: Broadly Distributed Pooled Funds
A new GIPS guidance statement has arrived There's a new sheriff in town (in the form of a new GIPS guidance statement), and he's carrying some seriously new proposed requirements for GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) compliant firms who are engaged in...
Game Theory & Performance Measurement
This post may be a bit of a stretch, but hoping you'll find it of interest, nonetheless. It'll show how game theory can tie into performance measurement. My wife and I are big fans of the television game show, Jeopardy. We watch it each night, and record it so that if...
Security valuation problems: just when you thought you had it figured out
Today's Wall Street Journal has two front page articles that deal with security valuation problems. "Investors Abandon Risky Funds" addresses the recent drop in the prices of high yield bonds. We find the following: "Some investors reported difficulties selling...