We wrote in the past about the NFA attempting to improve its processes by hiring Berkeley Research Group to look into its auditing practices, and where it went wrong with PFGBest. Now we’re starting to get an idea of what the Berkeley Research Group has been up to.
Category: Macro Commentary
10
Jan
2013
Seeking Managers with the XX Factor
Last year wasn’t just rough for managed futures – hedge funds had a lackluster year compared to the soaring equity indices. But as it turns out, their struggles weren’t uniform – a subset of the industry did quite a bit better than their peers, and Dealbook is chalking it up to hedge funds that had a certain XX factor…
09
Jan
2013
A Lie That Won’t Die: The 60/40 Portfolio
January always plays host to a wide variety of ideas about portfolio construction for the coming 12 months. Usually, we brace ourselves for a wide swath of regurgitated nonsense, and try not to let it get under our skin. Except, sometimes, the people talking should know better- a lot better- and we find ourselves in need of rant.
Today is one of those times. Frank Kinnrey, one of Vanguard’s principals, spoke with InvestmentNews, and some of what to say qualified as fightin’ words.
08
Jan
2013
PFGBest Update: Not Quite Man’s Best Friend
As the PFGBest scandal has played out, a variety of lawsuits have been filed against a host of entities. For his part, Russell Wasendorf, Jr. has been attempting to downplay both his own culpability in the firm’s downfall, as well as his financial ability to pay restitution to those who have been wronged. While the information about the latter is scarce, the argument for his innocence is on shaky ground, to say the least.
07
Jan
2013
Sweet Home Chicago #1
It’s been a while since Chicago has been able to brag about first place. So when a recent study broke down hedge fund performance by major US city, we were thrilled to see our own Chicago come out on top. If we can’t have championship rings, we’ll take top-performing city.
07
Jan
2013
Mint That Coin
While the dramatic New Year’s Fiscal Cliff fiasco is behind us, the buck was passed to the 113th Congress on the debt ceiling debate. During this political intermission, the kind folks of the internet commentariat have done the job of Congress for them. They’ve found an easy, simple way to avoid a debt ceiling showdown along partisan lines. Their proposal: mint a trillion dollar coin.
02
Jan
2013
The Fiscal Swerve?
While the economic damage from going over the fiscal cliff would have been spread out over the next year, the 11th hour passage of a deal sent the markets soaring this morning. That’s all well and good, but a closer look at the deal reveals that it may be too soon to start celebrating.
31
Dec
2012
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven…
Tonight when revelers are counting down from ten, it might not be a part of their New Year festivities – they may be counting the seconds until Congress finalizes the details of the fiscal cliff deal.
27
Dec
2012
Attain’s 10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2012
As the year comes to a close, we’re left reflecting on everything that’s transpired over the past 12 months. From scandal to struggle, from innovation to investor education, it certainly hasn’t been a dull period. As we sifted through the blog posts of the year, there were ten that shone through, and may be worth another look. Happy New Year to all!
26
Dec
2012
Japan’s New PM and Gundlach’s New Spread Trade
The game of musical chairs known as “being Prime Minister of Japan” has landed once again on former PM Shinzo Abe in the eighth change in the country’s leadership since 2006. The move has created something of a frenzy as we’ve watched the Nikkei soar and the Yen plummet, and at least one CTA has been enjoying the trend.
