To read Part I of this article please click here. carl baconGuest Contributor: Carl Bacon, Chairman, StatPro Some critics of performance fees make the claim that asymmetric fees in particular encourage managers to take more risk if performance is poor because they have little further downside and considerable upside. This is not my personal experience.
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Performance Fees – Good or Bad? Part I
Guest Contributor: Carl Bacon, Chairman, StatPro After a brief lull during the credit crisis, performance (or incentive) fees are again becoming increasingly high profile. An excellent time therefore to pose two questions: Are they a good thing? And if used, how should they be structured? Supporters of performance fees would suggest that they are desirable
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2011 – Wanted: Growth, Innovation & Profit – Needed: Technology
SimCorp recently conducted a survey asking asset managers what they feel the year 2011 will bring about for them and their businesses. The survey reported that many asset managers expect to see a large increase in revenue and assets under management in the next year. This provides a great vote of confidence for the forthcoming
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For Whom Should We Give Thanks?
Guest Contributor: Holly Miller, Partner & Founder, Stone House Consulting In a few days’ time, Americans around the globe will gather together with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is traditionally an occasion to reflect on the factors that contributed to our success, to speak of the people who helped us and to share
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UCITS IV –Scared of Commitment?
Guest Contributer: Steve Carrier-Simon, Buy-side Sentinel Product Manager, Fidessa The implications of UCITS IV are being widely debated. And market watchers will all have their own areas of interest. What will be the tax issues? What will it mean for cross border mergers? How will master feeder structures be affected? Etc…etc The area that got
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The Fed: Helping or Hurting?
The Federal Reserve recently began implementing their plan to help boost the U.S. economy – their $600 billion plan. The result: the S&P 500 immediately tumbled, reaching its greatest loss in three months. I’m not outright saying that there is a direct correlation; however, it is something to think about. The Fed announced their stimulus
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Derivatives – Devil or Angel?
Guest Contributor: Phil Sindel, Executive Director, Olmstead Associates, Inc. Say the word derivatives to some people and watch them begin to sweat, shake and think about widows and orphans being thrown out on the street. Derivatives appear to have pretty bad public relations! They have been blamed for everything from the current financial crisis to
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Asia Does it Again
A recent study conducted by Omgeo revealed a direct correlation between the percentages of Same Day Affirmation (SDA) scores with settlement efficiency. The data for the study came from SDA scores of firms using Omgeo services representing 46 countries and averaging 24 million trades/month and settlement efficiency rates as measured by Global Custodian surveys of
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Operational Risk – the Overlooked Necessity
Guest Contributer: Charles Garcia, Head of Sales, North America, Sophis As financial firms plan their budget allocations for 2011 and beyond, the one crucial area where some companies fail to focus, and which can wind up a costly mistake, is operational risk management. Following the global financial crisis’ industry-wide spending freeze, firms are now finally
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New Cost-Basis Concerns
After reading Maureen Lowe’s blog post earlier this week on the first phase of the new Cost-Basis Reporting law that is scheduled to go into effect this January 1st and the release of the IRS’s final requirements, I thought it might be beneficial to look into what all these new cost-basis requirements are all about!
