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...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
What do bond rating agencies and mutual fund peer group providers have in common?
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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...
Charles Schwab Performance Charts: what’s good/what’s bad?
This post is about performance charts; it just so happens that I'm using one that just appeared on Twitter by Charles Schwab. As the saying goes, "credit where credit is due," so I'm obligated to acknowledge my source. But, I'm not really wanting to critique Charles...
Announcing a GIPS 20/20 Consultation Paper Consultation Webinar
In case you haven't heard, the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) are going to have a rather major "make over." It's planned for 2020, and so to take advantage of the uniqueness of this particular year, it's being referred to as "GIPS 20/20." Get it? You...
Is your verifier requiring you to sign a restrictive contract?
One thing I've always wondered about: why do some verifiers force their clients to sign contracts that restrict them from leaving? We have clients who had to delay coming on board because they were trapped in such contracts that made it difficult to switch. In...
What question does the GIPS for Asset Owners composite return answer?
The revised GIPS for Asset Owners guidance statement hasn't yet been finalized, but we can pretty much expect that the time-weighted composite return requirement will remain. At a recent NYSSA (New York Society of Security Analysts) GIPS program, that I had the...
The GIPS verification field just got a bit smaller: congratulations to ACA
ACA acquiring Ashland's GIPS verification practice In case you haven't heard, ACA Compliance Group has announced that they are acquiring Ashland Partners' GIPS Verification and performance practice. We congratulate ACA for this major achievement. From our...
Not GIPS compliant? How about a non-GIPS verification?
Let's face it, the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS(R)) are extremely popular, and thousands of asset managers throughout the world have adopted them. And, most of these firms get annual GIPS verifications. Both compliance and verifications are de...
Why not turn your car into an automobile university
There's an automobile university near you that's taking new students! I posted about this idea nearly four years ago, and thought it worthy to do so again. Have you thought about enrolling in automobile university? What do I mean by that? Simply, to turn your...