Asking the Right Questions
Pensions: An Interview with The Examiner
Article appeared in The Examiner December 18th 2015
Thoughts on Investment Manager Selection
Article appeared in the Sunday Business Post December 13th 2015
Thoughts from Feurteventura: Health & Retirement
My commentary is late this week because I was away for a short trip to Fuerteventura, Spain. The reason I bring it up is not to tell you about the amazing scenery there, but to share with you a lesson I took from the…
Society: Thoughts from the Week
Give thanks to our consumer society…. The major US equity indices were relatively flat in what was a holiday shortened trading week in US markets, with Americans ‘giving thanks’ on Thursday before splurging in the madness that is the Black Friday frenzy. There is…
The Elusive Search for Alpha: Natural Enthusiasm
I have written recently about the importance of having a clear process in place for the evaluation, selection and monitoring of active investment managers. A well-defined process can help sidestep serial underperformers and shortlist managers actually worth considering. For those managers that make the…
Active Investment Management: The Jose Mourinho Dilemma
Trustee groups I work with face a plethora of choice when implementing an investment strategy. One important decision is whether to use passive or active investment managers. Passive managers simply look to replicate a particular index. For example, for broad exposure to global equities,…
Retirement in the US looks good for the few
Last week, the Institute for Policy Studies in the US released an interesting report entitled “A Tale of Two Retirements”. The report looks at retirement assets in the United States, highlighting some thought provoking facts about the lack of pension provision across the population,…
The Chinese, a great bunch of lads!
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, did his best to woo the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, last week on his state visit to the United Kingdom. The Chinese President was treated to pints of ale, fish and chips, and a tour of Manchester City’s football…
Mario Draghi and the lower “lower bound”….
In September 2014, ECB President Mario Draghi cut interest rates on their main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility rate and the deposit facility to 0.05%, 0.30% and -0.20% respectively. At the time Draghi confirmed that “now we are at the lower bound, where…
The Fergie Factor – Insights from a Proven Leader
All Liverpool fans lament the day Alex Ferguson crossed the border from Scotland into England, joining Manchester United in November 1986 after a successful time as manager of Aberdeen. That same year Liverpool won the double, the league championship and FA Cup. The 1970s…
