I just got off the phone with a GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) verification client, who is trying to reconcile the settlement and trade date sides of trading. On trade date, they don't have the cash necessary to make a purchase; but, by settlement...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
Trading without the cash
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Time for a brief survey
Our firm's COO, Patrick Fowler, recently asked us to answer this question:What are the top five struggles performance departments face?Before sharing with you our responses, I thought I'd ask YOU to respond. And to encourage you to do so, we'll offer a...
To rebalance or not to rebalance your benchmark
I was recently interviewed by Money magazine on the subject of benchmark rebalancing. Let's say your strategy is 70% equities and 30% bonds, and you are using the S&P 500 for the equity component and the Barclay's Agg for bonds. At some point, because market...
What happens to your GIPS presentation when you no longer need supplemental information?
A GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) verification client sent me this question, just before our Labor Day weekend break (and I'll paraphrase): if we change or remove supplemental information, must we disclose it?Neither the Standards nor the...
A Free GIPS Webinar!
I will host a webinar on Monday, September 17, at 11:00 AM EST, titled "The Ten Most Common Mistakes GIPS Compliant Firms Make." This is a FREE webinar, but space is limited, so please contact us soon (either by calling 732-873-5700 or emailing Patrick Fowler)....
Beware of outliers: lessons from education, sports, and movies
The headline in today's Home News Tribune (a central New Jersey newspaper) is titled "Probe: Teachers enabled cheating." It points out how last year Woodbridge administrators and teachers were celebrating because New Jersey state's School...
Money- versus time-weighitng: let me be very clear
It's election time here in the United Staes, so it's appropriate to cite a few of our presidents. America's 37th president (Richard Nixon) is often recalled for his "let me make this perfectly clear" line. Our 42nd president (Bill Clinton) didn't use the term "clear,"...
Just because the return or risk formula seems to make sense doesn’t mean it’s valid
TSG offers Operational Reviews and Software Certifications, both of which expose us to formulas that firms put into use. Sometimes, they are variations of formulas that have been around for years; but occasionally, they're brand new; ones the clients developed...
“Technology Training Can Be A Boon To Productivity”
This post's headline comes from a book by the late Chet Holmes. It's doubtful, very doubtful, that anyone would disagree with such a statement. Our firm provides several training courses, but nothing that deals specifically with technology ... well, this...
Smoothing and geometric attribution
Carl Bacon, CIPM, when asked to contrast geometric and arithmetic attribution, will no doubt point out the chief advantages geometric offers:Proportional: the active return is a ratio, not a difference, as we find with arithmetic. Convertible: the active return is...