In September 2013, those of us who attended the annual GIPS(R) conference were provided with some rather scary news: that managers with pooled funds (e.g., mutual funds) would be required to provide all prospective fund shareholders with the composite...
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
GIPS Pooled Funds Guidance Statement Released!
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Crossing return gaps to meet client requests
Return gaps can often occur. And so, there are times when we might want to be able to "cross" them: that is, to extend performance across this gap, so that we have a continuous return. However, there are times when the manager may not want to cross it, but the...
When gross minus net doesn’t equal the annual advisory fee: still an oldie but a goodie
Perhaps the problem I'll touch on is such that firms will avoid reporting gross- and net-of-fee returns. Hopefully not. A new GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards) verification client reached out with a problem. One of their clients subtracted their...
How to “slim down” your GIPS presentation
Chances are that if you claim compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS(R), your GIPS presentations are running out of room. But many GIPS compliant firms like to limit their composite presentations to one or two pages. Over the years,...
Annualized standard deviation: Why? What for? What does it mean?
We just published our monthly newsletter (a few days late, but better-late-than-never, right?). And already we've gotten comments in on two things: #1 is our puzzle, but a close #2 is my commentary on annualized standard deviation. And, as I point out, the recent...
Scivantage’s performance software has passed TSG’s software certification
TSG has been conducting software reviews for over two decades. Historically, we offered this service whenever anyone happened to ask "would you mind taking a look at our system?" For example, the late Damien Laker asked me to look at his system about 20 years ago: he...
Spreadsheets for performance: caution!
Spreadsheets are powerful tools. In business, they've become indispensable. But, they come with huge risks. Let's briefly touch on a few. Systems on spreadsheets ... not usually a good idea Around 30 years ago I took over responsibility for a NYC-based asset...
First Rate, Inc.’s rate of return functionality has passed TSG’s software certification!
TSG has conducted software reviews for over 20 years. However, it was only recently that we decided to formalize the process, and offer a formal “software certification” to firms and institutions who have performance measurement software. What criteria do we use when...
GIPS dispersion: against which returns, gross- or net-of-fee?
The GIPS(R) standards require compliant firms to include a measure of dispersion for each year in which they have six or more accounts present for the full 12 months. But, which return should they use, gross-of-fee or net-of-fee? What about for the 36-month, ex...
Draft GIPS Guidance Statement on Supplemental Information: remember to chime in!
I finally got around to writing up my comments to the draft guidance on supplemental information for GIPS(R) (Global Investment Performance Standards). Since the idea of supplemental information pertains to just about all firms that claim compliance with the...