Asset Allocation Revisited
If any single concept were the focal point of this blog it would be Asset Allocation. Therefore, it is time to review this all important topic. While each investor will set up an asset allocation plan to fit their financial needs ... of investing. Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) is the “normal’ mix of assets given the objectives [more...]
Date: 2009-01-08 14:43:43
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Back to School
I came across this article “Six Lessons for Investors” from The Wall St Journal last week and didn’t have the chance to read it until last night, ... , even by experts. Never underrate the importance of asset allocation. Mutual funds with superior ... into alternative asset classes. Beware of financial innovation. Now, I’m no expert, but here’ [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 22:27:07
Insurers Plunge On Investment Losses; Regional Banks Fall On Div Risk
INSURERS PART OF FORCED DIVESTITURES The efforts by Hartford Financial Services (HIG) ... to the commercial assets; among large insurers, it’s portfolio has the greatest exposure to the asset class. Other insurers, such as Genworth Financial (GNW), which has traded below $1 a share on Friday’ [more...]
Date: 2008-11-21 18:41:49
Protecting Yourself – The Final Steps
Dear Friends, Having secured your finances by insuring them with gold and distancing your assets from your financial agents to the greatest degree ... and improve their home security. You have nothing to lose by being objective. Here are a few ways to achieve a high level of home security: (1) Install an external intercom so you can talk [more...]
Date: 2009-01-11 01:22:55
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Are Buying. Who?s Selling?
Now that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have become bank holding companies, they are on the acquisition trail looking to boost their deposit bases ... talks with several suitors including PNC Financial. NatCity has an asset management business ... Stanley in particular, which has a sprawling asset management operation with $577 billion at Morgan [more...]
Date: 2008-10-13 09:51:00
GoodGuide Takes Top Prize At Web 2.0 Summit Launchpad
One of the featured events at this week’s Web 2.0 Summit was the Launchpad, ... is an emissions management software platform that allows companies to effectively keep track ... if their carbon credits will be financial asset or liabilities, and helps them deal with them accordingly [more...]
Date: 2008-11-07 01:59:44
Greenspan's Lament
Greenspan’s Lament Do you think Alan Greenspan ever saw “Casablanca”? ... that foolish bank lending and inflated asset values have damaged the financial system. Claude Rains said ... committee in his defense: “In recent decades, a vast risk management and pricing system has evolved [more...]
Date: 2008-10-23 19:42:33
Refuted economic doctrines #1: The efficient markets hypothesis
Over at my blog, I’ve started a series of posts on economic doctrines and policy proposals that have been refuted or rendered obsolete by the ... in asset prices on the basis of past movements, in the manner supposedly done by sharemarket chartists ... . The strong version, which gained some credence during the financial bubble era says that asset prices [more...]
Date: 2009-01-03 02:06:27
yacht trader
Salvagers recover yacht Goldcrest from Derwentwater - News and Star THE wreck of a yacht missing on Derwentwater since the storms of January ... - Wall Street Journal Please register to gain free access to WSJ tools. An account already exists for the email address entered. William Hutchings, asset management editor for Financial News [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 09:16:17
Lehman gets $2.15 billion for Neuberger Berman
The price tag was less than one would have liked, but these are desperate times for sellers of financial assets ... still a solvent company, the price tag was estimated at $4 billion. In August, those same assets would ... about the fate of all the operations that were part of Lehman’s asset management division [more...]
Date: 2008-09-29 19:30:05
Revisiting regional banks
As you know from reading my blog, I am expecting a lot of writedowns from regional banks as real estate loans sour ... from: NewsInc Living with SFAS 121: how to avoid (or record) an asset writedown. (Statement of Financial ... Accountant Commercial Property Insurance and Risk Management Managing and Leasing Commercial Properties [more...]
Date: 2009-01-14 20:33:32
Obama Comments on TARP Changes; Barney Frank Wants a New Bill
With President Bush conceding to the wishes of the president-elect and his economic transition team and agreeing to release the remaining $350 ... have been spent on helping people avoid foreclosure. “It is clear that the financial system, although ... on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. President-elect Barack Obama has asked President George [more...]
Date: 2009-01-12 23:37:52
A biological perspective on financial bubbles
Freakonomics has this brilliant and illuminating post by Prof Andrew Lo on the genesis of financial asset bubble driven crises and the prescriptions ... by periods of rising real-estate and stock prices, large capital inflows, and financial liberalization [more...]
Date: 2009-01-12 12:51:00
Senators Target Fat Cat Abuse of Financial Bailout Money
As we've seen from numerous contracting scandals in Iraq, the federal government can be great a handing out money (sometimes literally shrink-wrapped piles of it), but less skilled in tracking where it goes ... for dollars at financial companies as part of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP [more...]
Date: 2008-12-23 22:41:50
UTI woos overseas Indians with new gold, equity-based fund
Even as the world grapples with a financial crisis, ... asset classes that they can add to their portfolios," Harsha Upadhyay, fund manager and vice-president of UTI Asset Management Co, said in the statement. "If one of your primary objectives is to earn [more...]
Date: 2008-10-27 11:38:09
AIG: Now that you own it, learn about it!
First of all—what is AIG? AIG is American International Group, the largest insurance company in the world ... insurance, life insurance and retirement services, financial services, and asset management ... into a bond for General Motors, but I’m now afraid [more...]
Date: 2008-09-19 17:01:54
The Truth About Living Trusts
There are several ways to handle your estate. Intestacy — dying without a will — is an option for some people with relatively simple finances ... of a will and a financial power of attorney — can offer additional asset-management muscle both while you’re ... . For others, a will can be a useful tool to take care of giving away your goodies — [more...]
Date: 2009-01-10 02:57:18
More Lessons From The 2008 Financial Markets
Larry Swedroe, principal of an asset management company and investment book author, ... that covered a variety of topics from active management to Madoff to your “Plan B”. Here ... . ... If their money managers could protect you, why did firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns go belly [more...]
Date: 2009-01-06 07:46:53
Implications of Repricing of Dollar Denominated Assets
In the wake of global financial events, a couple of articles have caught my attention in terms of implications for the dollar ... of the rich and middle class across Asia. ... The asset management operations of American banks [more...]
Date: 2008-09-18 15:28:16
Four at Four: All Is Forgiven
MarketBeat is more interested in the opinion of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s camels and horses. (Source: CNBC) ... says Mitch Stapley, chief fixed income officer at Fifth Third Asset Management. The banking stocks ... tracking 15 major financial institutions, saw its average cost for insurance against default decline [more...]
Date: 2008-11-24 12:41:00
Obama Administration: Senate Charges of "Mumbo Jumbo"
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) is quoted in The Hill as saying Obama's incoming OMB (Office of Management and Budget) ... spend the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package, known as the Troubled Asset ... of the charge. I'm thinking that Bush will continue to bear the brunt of our country's abuse [more...]
Date: 2009-01-13 19:01:00
Don’t Give Up on Gold
If you were counting on gold to boost your returns this year, chances are you’ve been cruelly disappointed ... and parcel of the global financial crisis would put downward pressure on virtually every asset class ... that gold, just like any other asset, produces the best returns when it is attractively priced [more...]
Date: 2008-12-02 15:36:14
The $1M Goal Revisited: Should I Take Risk?
One of the few things that are long-lived at PFBlog is the $1M goal stated in the tag line ... -figure asset much earlier with diligent savings and financial planning. Therefore, in 2005, I changed [more...]
Date: 2009-01-02 23:13:10
Why Did TARP Change Course?
The twists and turns of TARP have confused and dismayed ... about the need for transparency, published prices and dynamic collateral management, how we get from here ... financial crisis, and explored the structure of securitized mortgage asset pools as a reason for why Mr [more...]
Date: 2008-11-29 14:24:45
Preservation Companies, Contact Companies & REO Companies
This list may contain defunct companies or those that have changed their coverage area or services ... US-wide - asset management and disposition firm offering specialized services to financial institutions ... . AppIntell Inc. - http://www.appintell.com US-wide - providing risk management information and data [more...]
Date: 2008-09-27 03:47:16
Depression 2009 The Largest Train Wreck in Economic History
Change is a constant whether perceived or not; but only when we see it do we believe it has occurred. Then, it is too late. The phrase, speculative bubble, is used to describe the financial tumescence that characterizes the often manic unfounded rise of asset values. The phrase, however, is inadequate for it fails [more...]
Date: 2009-01-15 00:04:23
TOPWRAP 1-Japan eyes bank injections to counter crisis
Japan is reportedly considering cash injections for scores of regional banks in an effort to encourage lending as the financial crisis creates havoc ... , a fund manager of Paradigm Asset Management in Taiwan. “This round of rebound is based on ample [more...]
Date: 2009-01-07 06:09:45
Pop Politico: “Happy New Year?”
The optimistic adage that a rising tide floats all boats is less sanguine when one contemplates the obverse ... of Financial Crises:” Since the onset of the current crisis, asset prices have tumbled in the United [more...]
Date: 2009-01-06 18:30:41
Financial Forum
This Sunday (November 2nd) our church is hosting a Financia forum: Understanding the Economic Crisis ... of Genworth Financial, where he will be responsible for $75 billion of assets under management ... . Prior to joining JP Morgan in 2007, Ron was head of asset liability and risk management at Prudential [more...]
Date: 2008-10-30 01:28:25
GMAC bowl kicks off on Tuesday
GMAC bowl kicks off on Tuesday Posted: January 06, 2009, 2: ... Bowl on Dec. 30. Back to GMAC. The company was founded by General Motors in 1919, though Cerberus ... Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP rescue plan for the financial industry. Tempting though it might [more...]
Date: 2009-01-06 19:21:00
US Lawmakers Probe Alleged Multi-Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme
A U.S. congressional committee on Monday held the first of what is expected to be numerous hearings on an alleged massive financial fraud by New ... who invested with his Wall Street asset management firm since the 1990s. According to the Securities ... York asset manager Bernard Madoff. bernard-madoff-265x300 US Lawmakers Probe Alleged Multi [more...]
Date: 2009-01-06 02:27:09
Are You Financially Healthy? The 5 Stages
Last night, I was pondering the subject of cash flow (essentially how money flow through our hands) and about financial well being. I played around with various visualizations that consist of income, expenses, debt, and assets. What I came up with was the 5 stages of financial health below [more...]
Date: 2008-06-25 12:00:39
Kravis Says PE Is ?Partly to Blame? for Crisis but Is Here to Help
Oliver Smiddy, of Financial News, files this dispatch from the Super Return Middle East conference in Dubai ... downward pressure on asset values, and a yawning capital hole has appeared in the financial system [more...]
Date: 2008-10-16 14:00:11
Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) Profits Fall By 43%
Selling stuff you bought with borrowed money is a process that’s mostly been confined to the financial markets in 2008 ... one was the 43% decline in income from asset and equity investments. There were some strange assets ... mortgages and fund management assets. It did not, however, take any write downs on Macquarie Airports [more...]
Date: 2008-11-19 17:05:14
Should the Remaining $350 Billion TARP funds be Released for Obama?
President George W. Bush has requested Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion financial-rescue fund (TARP) ... released its second report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) today. The key issues ... this will come after many debates and media interviews [more...]
Date: 2009-01-08 04:02:25
Stop Calling It An "Industry" Too By: Mark W Adams
You can stop calling banks or investment firms a financial services "industry" while you're at it ... debt into a valuable asset by slicing and repackaging questionable mortgages into default-swap bond ... , the heirs to the gentrified aristocracy who now inhabit upper management high rise offices across [more...]
Date: 2008-12-19 20:14:00
Eric Sprott: Cash or gold?
November 7, 2008 Eric Sprott, financial crisis, gold In his latest essay Eric Sprott, chairman of Sprott Asset Management in Toronto, ... in places like Iceland, Brazil, and Mexico and that, Sprott believes, soon will not require a lot of argument in the United States either. Sprott’s essay is headlined “Cash or Gold?” and you can find [more...]
Date: 2008-11-07 07:04:21
Who is Neel Kashkari?
Whiz kid, bailout czar, $700 billion man, 35-year-old aerospace engineer and financier, former wrestler, the son of Indian immigrants, ... that negotiated the asset-repurchase programme with the Congress and is also believed [more...]
Date: 2008-10-14 02:42:51
Quelle Surprise! Banks Increase "Mark to Make-Believe" Assets to $610 Billion
Banks are, if nothing else, entirely predictable. If there is a way to game the system, they will avail themselves of it ... , which required financial firms to identify how they arrived at the "fair value" for their assets. Level ... firms have playes fast and loose with this rule: 1. In the first quarter of 2007, Wells Fargo created [more...]
Date: 2008-12-11 06:53:17
GMAC and Chrysler Financial: The Center of Hope
Speaking of an apocalyptic scenario, the poet William Butler Yeats wrote the line, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold ... be their respective finance arms, GMAC and Chrysler Financial. Cerberus Capital Management is majority owner of both ... to get money through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which has distributed nearly $350 billion [more...]
Date: 2008-12-18 09:13:00
Financial Services Hearing on Assisting the American Automobile Industry
Today, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a legislative hearing on extending the Department of Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief ... , Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Corporation Mr. Robert Nardelli, Chief ... ; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia [more...]
Date: 2008-11-19 17:14:09
Outspoken Fed Critic Taylor Coins ‘Mondustrial Policy’
Stanford Professor John Taylor has coined a new, unflattering term to describe the Federal Reserve’s approach to managing the financial crisis: ... . Its strategy is to target specific markets in distress — from commercial paper to asset backed securities [more...]
Date: 2009-01-05 11:32:00
MUFG buys 9.9% stake in Aberdeen
Mitsubishi UFJ Group has bought a 9.9% stake in Aberdeen Asset Management, the Scottish fund manager, as part of a strategic alliance with Japan’s largest financial group. The purchase is being made through Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank, a subsidiary of MUFG that will have exclusive rights to distribute [more...]
Date: 2008-10-03 04:30:13
MUFG buys 9.9% stake in Aberdeen (pfblogs.org)
Mitsubishi UFJ Group has bought a 9.9% stake in Aberdeen Asset Management, the Scottish fund manager, as part of a strategic alliance with Japan’s largest financial group. The purchase is being made through Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank, a subsidiary of MUFG that will have exclusive rights to distribute [more...]
Date: 2008-10-03 00:47:04
Financial Resolutions for the New Year
The following is a guest post from Marotta Asset Management. Every year many of us make New Year's resolutions and then can't follow through because we claim we're too busy. The most common [more...]
Date: 2009-01-11 03:56:57
Will Merrill's "Kitchen Sink" Writedown (MER) Set Bottom For Financials?
After Merrill Lynch (MER) announced it would sell its ABS CDO portfolio for a $4.4 billion loss at $0 ... before it can begin to recover from record low valuations? Atlantis Asset Management analyst Michael Cohn ... be the "watershed" writedown that could set the bottom for financials. At the very least, it gives the market [more...]
Date: 2008-07-29 18:13:00
The Progress of the Financial Crisis in One Picture: Mortgages, Flight to Safety, Credit Lock
Markus Brunnermeier provides an excellent summary graph of the financial crisis, told in "spreads". Figure 3 from Brunnermeier ( ... , to have excessive mismatch in asset-liability maturities, and to be too 36 interconnected. Brunnermeier ... it" meme, see 1 , 2 (h/t DeLong).) Technorati Tags [more...]
Date: 2008-11-20 04:32:53
Peter Schiff: A Financial Prophet
Watch this great video and see the scorning and scoffing of a man predicting a financial meltdown due to the housing situation ... is being held back by the countervailing pressures of bursting asset bubbles in real estate and stocks, forced liquidations in commodities, and troubled retailers slashing prices to unload excess inventory [more...]
Date: 2008-12-30 15:14:35
KB Home Reports 2008 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results
KB Home (NYSE: KBH), one of America's largest homebuilders, ... charges for asset impairments and abandonments [more...]
Date: 2009-01-09 19:30:00
Tax Management, One Dollar Home, DIY Haircut @ The Carnivals
The last couple of days have been nuts for us harried investors ... , maybe doing some portfolio adjustments like adding some new asset classes to our portfolio, and even ... A Company Can Make More Money Through Tax Management @ The Financial Blogger Credit Cards Are Excellent [more...]
Date: 2008-09-17 16:48:22
