GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) compliant firms routinely establish minimums for accounts to be included in composites. The minimum is the threshold, below which, the account is not representative of the strategy. But when should an account that...

Reminder: there is still time to sign up for this month's TSG webinar, which is on "nested attribution" (aka, balanced attribution).Tricia Nelson, CIPM and I will discuss common challenges, and a method that works!Please contact Chris Spaulding or Steve Sobhi to...

I came across a recent Forbes blog post about the shortcomings of spreadsheets. This is something we've addressed here, as well, and seeing it inspired me to once again add some comments.This post mentions the apparent use of spreadsheets to calculate Value at...

A client sent me a note recently asking how they can incorporate their advisory assets' performance into their GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) materials. It is becoming clear that the market sees appeal in UMA (Universal Managed Account)...

My high school English teachers could give testimony to my general dislike for the subject. I actually believed that as someone who had a natural affection for mathematics, it was expected that I would detest and far from excel in English, grammar, etc....

A Facebook friend of mine responded to the following mathematical puzzle:To learn that you have to be a genius to solve it can cause some anxiety. But in reality, it's quite simple, though most of those who tried got it wrong. Most people, I fear, are either...

Tricia Nelson Bailey, of Waddell & Reed, and I will conduct a webinar later this month (February 26, @ 11 AM EST) on nested attribution.What we mean by nested attribution is the case where the attribution is done down to additional levels. Typically, we see two...

I am listening to Dale Carneige's How to Win Friends & Influence People, a book I read about 15 years ago, and wish I had read 40 years ago. In it, he references this little poem, which I think all parents can benefit from. I wish I had heard it 40 years ago,...

I purchased Nate Silver's The signal and the noise a few months ago, and it's been patiently waiting for me to crack its cover. Well, I finally did, and I am very much enjoying it, as I suspected I would (it was reviewed last year in the WSJ).I will no doubt turn to...

One of our verification clients has the following situation, which I think is interesting. They have a client who has their money invested in three classes: equities, bonds, and real estate. Because the firm wishes to utilize carve-outs, they've constructed three...