Memorial Day is the "official" start of summer,and Labor Day the official end, despite the fact that both are technically off. But starting next week, we will pretty much return to "business as usual." Hoping you and your family had an enjoyable summer, and that this...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
Happy LDW (Labor Day Weekend)
Why retail investors could care less about rates of return
I often hear from those who serve the retail market that they are rarely asked for their rates of return; this seems a bit odd, as it would make sense for investors to want to inquire into a prospective manager's track record.An article in this past weekend's WSJ...
“Cool Words”
As grandparents of two boys (ages four and soon-to-be two), my wife and I have become acquainted with the television show "Yo Gabba Gabba." A regular feature is called "cool tricks," where a guest displays something they think is, well, cool! For example:I...
Insights & Perspectives
It recently occurred to me how these two words, insights and perspectives, play a non insignificant (i.e., significant) role in performance measurement. I often reference both when I teach, but thought it appropriate to share some views here with you.InsightsMy...
What about us?
Earlier this year, the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS(R)) Executive Committee published a draft guidance statement which expands the reach of GIPS into the asset owner world. I have commented briefly on it here before, and wrote an article for Pensions...
Should retail accounts be shown a benchmark?
Last week, during a talk I was giving to a group of operations folks, someone asked my thoughts on showing benchmarks to retail investors; specifically, those that are non-discretionary.It's important to realize that benchmarks serve two purposes: first, as a way to...
Overselling time-weighting
For some time it's been my view that time-weighting was oversold.That is, when nearly 50 years ago (1966, to be exact) Peter Dietz published his dissertation, promoting a return method to eliminate or reduce the impact of cash flows, his idea was so powerful and...
Combining time- and money-weighting
I am in Montana this week, conducting a session titled "Current Topics in Performance Measurement" for a conference of operations folks. One individual asked about combining time- and money-weighting into a single number. I think the idea lacks merit, as it takes away...
Revaluation vs. Repricing … there IS a difference
It is quite common today to find firms revalue their portfolios for large cash flows. But what do we mean by "revalue"? Is "repricing" enough?Think about this scenario: On January 31 the portfolio holds 20 different stocks, along with some cash.On February 15, a...
Tech Survey to be Expanded
TSG has been surveying the industry for 20 years on a variety of topics. This year we focus once again on performance and risk measurement technology, with two surveys:One for the usersOne for the suppliers.Until now the suppliers' survey has been sent only to...