TSG was proud to sponsor the 29th Annual Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) Conference last week in Arizona. We had six team members in attendance this year, including five of our GIPS specialists, actively participating in sessions, discussions, and conversations with clients and colleagues from around the world. As the premier boutique firm dedicated exclusively to performance measurement and GIPS® standards verification, supporting hundreds of compliant organizations globally, we believe it’s important to share the most meaningful insights from the event.
Below are the key takeaways we think matter most. (GIPS; Trade Error Policy; OCIO; SEC Marketing Rule)
Performance Perspectives Blog
Thoughts on performance measurement from David Spaulding and other members of our team.
29th Annual Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) Conference Key Takeaways (GIPS; Trade Error Policy; OCIO; SEC Marketing Rule)
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...
Can we begin to work on some of the confusion in GIPS? Let’s begin with GIPS discretion vs. Legal discretion?
I recently conducted a software certification of a software vendor's composite system, where they use the term "Discretionary" as a characteristic of accounts. They correctly point out to their clients that this term is meant from the "GIPS" view; that is, a...
What is the difference between functions and features?
John Simpson and I are spending this week working on a new service which we will introduce later this year (stay tuned for details!). During the course of our conversation, a question arose: what's the difference between functions and features? I must confess that I...
A skill worth learning: the phonetic alphabet
There are a lot of benefits to spending time in the military, and one that's not often thought of is the requirement to learn the phonetic alphabet. What's the phonetic alphabet? The phonetic alphabet is essentially reciting the alphabet with words rather than...
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...
Will 2025 Usher in “The Great Fixed Income Decade?”
Bonds continue to be poorly understood and underutilized, especially among risk managers and performance analysts. Our session on maximizing the value of the fixed income investments within the asset owner portfolio dispels the misunderstandings regarding how bonds are issued, traded and allocated in multi-asset portfolios.
A bit of history on the NYSE
When I was an undergrad there were only two subjects I considering majoring in: history and mathematics; I chose the latter, but have continued to enjoy the former. In today's Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig begins with a reference to the possible NYSE Euronext and...
Risk management gone amuck
By now you're aware of Washington's funding of Solyndra, the now bankrupt energy company that received something north of a half billion dollars in government loans. In Wednesday's WSJ, Deborah Solomon had an article ("Solyndra Said to Have Violated Terms of Loan")...
10 Key points about rates of return
At the core of performance measurement is the rate of return. While we are often distracted by attribution, risk, and the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS(R)), the ROR is fundamental. And so, there are some key points we should agree on. 1. Use...