I think people are under-allocated to CTAs. It’s a good way of getting the (risk mitigating) medicine to the patient . . . But investors are return chasers and last year was not a good year,” he says.
Trend-following funds need to find their footing in 2017 – (FT)
In the decade after Ed thorp launched Princeton Newport Partners, the fund gained 409%, annualizing at 17.7% before fees and 14.1% after. Not bad for a market neutral portfolio. Over the same period, the S&P 500 annualized at just 4.6%, including dividends.
Firearms Versus Bow and Arrows – (The Irrelevant Investor)
The problem isn’t that these mutual funds are inherently bad.
The Hidden Fees Inside Managed-Future Funds – (The Wall Street Journal)
Managed futures provide valuable diversification; it’s one of the few strategies with consistently low correlation to other asset class.
It’s Time to Clean Up Managed Futures Mutual Funds – (Wealth Management)
Managed Futures 2016 Strategy Review – (RCM’s Attain Alternatives Blog)
Although stock pickers are cutting fees, the trend towards ETFs and passive investing quickened in 2016
ETFs are eating the US stock market – (FT)
The good news is that a globally diversified portfolio can mitigate many of these risks.
Deep Risk Under President Trump – (A Wealth of Common Sense)
The activity Deutsche Bank engaged in that resulted in over $600 million of fines was borne out of the bank’s desire to move $10 billion out of Russia — in what one regulator said were transactions “highly suggestive of financial crime.”
Here’s why Deutsche Bank was fined $628 million over Russian trades – (Market Watch)
The rule, promulgated by the Department of Labor and set to take effect in April, requires brokers selling retirement investments to put the client’s interests ahead of their own. It’s designed largely to protect consumers enrolled in qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs.)
Trump to order regulatory rollback Friday for finance industry starting with Dodd-Frank – (Washington Post)
America’s score, which went from 8.05 to 7.98, is now below the threshold for a full democracy (8.0). The index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture.
America is no longer a ‘full democracy’ according to the Democracy Index – (SF Gate)
Substantial declines in state support, driven by contractions in state budgets, have occurred at public sector universities. For such universities, declines in state appropriations force a choice between increasing tuition levels, cutting expenditures, or enrolling a greater proportion of students paying full out-of-state tuition
A Passage to America: University Funding and International Students – (NBER)
