Pick young, small hedge funds for better returns?

If you face a choice between two hedge funds with equally attractive performance records, you should pick the younger, smaller fund. At least, that’s what I took away from “Hedge Fund Performance Persistence: A New Approach,” an article by Nicole M. Boyson, an assistant professor of finance at Northeastern University, in the Nov./Dec. 2008 issue […]

Access 342 hiring investment research analysts, says Integrity Research

Access 342, a new kind of investment research firm, is hiring research analysts, according to Integrity Research’s “Who is Hiring in the Current Environment?“ That’s the good news. The bad news: not many analysts will fit the Access 342 mold. The bar to entry is high. You must be “identified as highly valuable by the […]

When it’s okay to break the rules

You can break the rules of grammar and punctuation that you learned as a kid. I know this intuitively. But I’ve had a hard time coming up with guidelines for when to break the rules. Until now. I like what Susan Gunelius said in her Entrepreneur.com article, “Copywriting Grammar Ain’t Perfect.” In simplest terms, you […]

Dan Ariely on "The Financial Markets and the Neurospsychology of Trust"

Individuals have lost their trust in financial institutions, says Dan Ariely in “The Financial Markets and the Neurospsychology of Trust.” Everyone knows that. But Ariely also asserts that our stock market problems can’t be resolved until trust is restored–something that  bailout efforts don’t address.  Ariely says: I don’t have much faith in the legislation, but […]

"Pack a house with nervous clients?"

You can help your clients–and yourself–by addressing their financial fears. In “Pack a house with nervous clients?”, Matthew Homann of the [non]billable hour blog suggests that you offer clients a free financial seminar to which they can invite a friend. Don’t sell at your seminar, but distribute a helpful handout and encourage them to pass […]