Writing sample: Three key lessons from “Schwab and TD Ameritrade Financial Stability”

Sometimes a little tweaking can make your email message more compelling to your readers. That’s especially true when you make your message reader-centric. Below you’ll find a “before” example of a message I received recently and the “after” version with my edits to make it more client-focused. BEFORE: Schwab and TD Ameritrade Financial Stability We […]

New GIPS standards will change the rules for marketers of separate accounts

Marketers of investment strategies marketed using performance composites will have to learn new recommendations and rules once GIPS 2010 goes into effect. If you’re a reader of marketing materials for separate accounts, you will find new information to digest. GIPS is short for Global Investment Performance Standards. The next draft of GIPS standards will be […]

What the heck is Twitter?

It’s tough to keep up with all of the social networking tools and their business uses.  One that I’ve struggled to see the value of –at least for me–is Twitter. Twitter is like a series of mini blog posts or updates, as described in the slide show on “Twitter in Plain English.” As the Twitter […]

Better client reporting on investments is coming, says speaker at GIPS conference

Better client reporting on investments is on the horizon, according to “The Future of Performance Measurement,” a Sept. 25 presentation by Stefan Illmer, head of client reporting for Credit Suisse, at the CFA Institute’s GIPS Standards Annual Conference in Boston. There is “increasing pressure to provide analytics…from the client’s point of view” in addition to […]

Financial crisis will change client reporting, according to Credit Suisse executive

In response to my question about how the current financial crisis will impact performance measurement and reporting, Stefan Illmer, head of client reporting for Credit Suisse, said that the investment industry needs standards for client reporting.  He said he wasn’t referring to performance reporting to clients, but to a broader array of topics such as […]