Effective writing and blogging is faster with a plan

Effective writing takes time. This is true even for short pieces such as blog posts. So don’t beat yourself up if you feel as if you’re rowing upstream instead of kicking up wake as you speed ahead. It took me slightly less than an hour to type, input, and proofread “Poll: “Investable” or “investible”–which spelling […]

Your spell checker doesn’t work so you must proofread

Can you identify the error? The picture shows the subject line of an email that I’ve edited to hide the identity of the guilty typist. It includes the kind of error that a spell checker won’t catch. Even Microsoft Word’s grammar checker didn’t catch the typo when I tested the complete sentence. Proofreading is essential, […]

Guest post: “How Seeking Alpha Can Build Your Professional Reputation”

SeekingAlpha.com looks like a great way for investment professionals to share their opinions and market themselves. So when I met Geoff Considine and learned he’d done exactly that, I asked him to guest-blog about his experience. How Seeking Alpha Can Build Your Professional Reputation by Geoff Considine Writing for SeekingAlpha.com has helped me develop my […]

no, No, NO: My business card shouldn’t add me to your e-newsletter list

“When people give you their business cards, you’re in a relationship, so you can add them to your e-newsletter list.” Photo by Almoko I disagree with the statement above. But I’ve heard it from many people. Technically speaking, you may not violate the CAN-SPAM Act if you email everyone who gives you their card. But, […]

Should the Morningstar style box go 3-D? Quality counts, says Atlanta Capital

Investment professionals and financial advisors are familiar with the Morningstar style box, which categorizes stock funds by market capitalization and style. A recent CFA Magazine article made me wonder if Morningstar should turn the style box into a style cube by adding a third dimension: quality. Stock quality may overwhelm size and style Quality counts […]