If your firm complies with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS(R)), then you need to be familiar with the new guidance statement on alternative investments. TSG's Jed Schneider, CIPM, FRM will host a webinar tomorrow, Tuesday, November 20, to provide...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.

Alternative Investment Guidance Statement Explained

Taking a week off (well, except for today, which is only for explanatory purposes)
My wife and I are on vacation this week in beautiful Aruba, to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. And so, rather than detract attention to the woman I love (save for this single post, while she's showering), I won't post again until next week. Hope you...

Next week is Risk Week … still time to sign up!
TSG will hold its second annual webinar conference next week, and the subject is RISK! Each day there will be a different topic and speaker. Details can be found on our website. This conference format (one topic/speaker per day for five days) provides a cost effective...

When short is too short
I have a confession to make: I used to be 6' 1/2" tall (I liked the 1/2", because it put me ABOVE 6'). My father was 6'6", my older brother roughly the same, and my younger brother is, I think, around 6'2". My two sons are both taller than I am. And so, I can be...

A crowded, but happy office
Hurricane Sandy left many of us without power; fortunately, our office has electricity. And so, we invited our employees to bring their spouses and/or children with them, to have a chance to warm up, relax, and even have a hot shower. Most took advantage of the offer,...

When performance isn’t so good
A year ago Monday, the Northeast part of the United States was greeted with a horrendous storm, which included a lot of snow and damaging wind. My wife and I that day went to a civil union ceremony, a trip that should have taken about an hour; instead, it took four....

You can pay me (annualize) now, or you can pay (annualize) me later
One of our clients introduced me to alternative ways to calculate two commonly used risk-adjusted return measures: information ratio and Sharpe ratio. Their immediate derivation is from Zephyr, and I am attempting to identify their origin. I confirmed that...

Working my way through the Alternative Investments GS
I have read through the new GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) Alternative Investments Guidance Statement a few times, and frequently make what I think are interesting discoveries. Here's just one:I have highlighted the part I find of interest (I...

Did you hire a GIPS verifier or a cell phone provider?
If truth be told (and I am about to tell it), I do not know how common this practice is, but we have become aware of cases where GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) verifiers require their clients to sign multi-year contracts. E.g., they will perform the...

A new GIPS rule being introduced in a non-standard way
It came to my attention yesterday that a new GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) rule is being introduced into the GIPS Handbook regarding the treatment of significant cash flows (SCF): compliant firms will no longer be able to use the "number of...