Heeding the words of Horace Greeley, we're going west ... with PMAR West!!! PMAR West: an idea whose time has come! I try to be quick to give credit for great ideas, and so I'll give credit for this one ... to me! Yes, this was my idea. I felt that with the success...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
Heading west with PMAR West
read more
Is midday cash flow treatment acceptable?
Can't decide? Why not "split the difference," and go with a midday cash flow? Occasionally, we hear from firms who just can't decide whether to employ a start- or end-of-day cash flow policy. As you're probably aware, for quite some time I've advocated a "dual"...
How to assess a pension fund’s performance
This is the time of year when many pension funds report their returns for the prior fiscal year. And often, the reported returns were calculated using a time-weighted method. But, is this appropriate? Or, perhaps, is more needed? In my way of thinking, pension...
Announcing TSG’s Sixth Performance Measurement Technology Survey
TSG, in association with Confluence Technologies, Ortec Finance, Robust Technologies, and Statpro, is conducting a performance measurement technology survey. This is the sixth time TSG has conducted a survey on performance measurement technology. The survey...
But it seemed like such a good idea at the time …
I have frequently encountered things that have been implemented, that just seemed like SUCH good ideas at one time. However, often we later discover that what may have, indeed, seemed like a good idea isn't, in reality. This post will focus on a few of cases...
In performance reporting, how much precision do we need?
How much precision do we need? I'm a rounder: I confess. I'm fine rounding numbers. When I was mayor of the Township of North Brunswick (NJ) (2000-2003), our finance officer would deliver reports to me with precision to the penny; I told him just to round, to...
When the labels don’t matter; e.g., time-weighting
Sometimes, the labels don't matter We just finished our European conference PMAR, an event that we felt was a huge success. And, as I often do, I made an attempt to interject a bit of humor. A favorite label of mine to pick on is "regular coffee," as the opposite...
What do bond rating agencies and mutual fund peer group providers have in common?
When I learned of the recent Barron's article touting the success of an Eaton Vance municipal bond fund, based on the ratings given by two mutual fund peer group providers, a thought immediately occurred to me: it sounded exactly like the problem that resulted...
Promoting Strong Women
This is QUITE a different post for me, but after some recent reflection, decided it was appropriate. The idea of "promoting strong women" isn't new for me. I've been doing this for quite some time. When I was mayor of North Brunswick, NJ (2000-2003), I made...
Something smells, and it isn’t sweet perfume: questionable past performance
First, in the spirit of full disclosure ... The source for this post is one of our GIPS verification clients. They reached out today, alerting me of what they believed was misleading information as reported by Barron's. After some discussion and a bit of review, I...