Asset International

Margaret Thatcher's Leadership Lessons

Bob — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:40:18 GMT

We are in London this week, focusing on client and team meetings. This is the replacement trip for the one that was canceled in March. Spring has arrived and the first four days have seen fabulous weather, but I trust that the rain and wind will catch up with us, starting today.

Napa Valley

Bob — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:09:10 GMT

Unfortunately, due to a canceled flight on United Airlines to London from San Francisco and United's inability to reschedule our flight for several days with the original non-stop itinerary, Mary Claire and I found ourselves at home in Blackhawk this past week. I believe that United Airlines is still finding their fleet compromised with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner continuing to be grounded around the globe. We certainly had many things to catch up on, as we had not been home in the Bay Area for more than a month, but Mary Claire suggested that a Friday trip to Napa Valley would be a welcome addition to our schedule.

Spring 2013

Bob — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:06:55 GMT

On Saturday, February 2nd, Groundhog Day, Staten Island Chuck did not spot his shadow at the Staten Island Zoo. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to pass on this event, leaving City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who will campaign for the Mayor's job when his third term comes to end, to represent the city. Staten Island Chuck has been notorious for biting Mayor Bloomberg in 2009, so this is one annual event he does not always attend. Mayor Bloomberg will be missed by most of us when his third term expires, perhaps even by Staten Island Chuck.

Investment Executive: US Firm Acquires Investor Economics

Application — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:02:37 GMT

Susan Yellin at Investment Executive provided details on Asset International's most recent acquisition.

PEHUB.com: Asset International is Acquiring Investor Economics

Application — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 10:24:40 GMT

Asset International, which is backed by Austin Ventures, is buying Investor Economics.

Investor Economics, Canadian Provider of Financial Services Business Intelligence Data and Research, Merges Its Business with Asset International

Application — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 06:16:52 GMT

FEBRUARY 7, 2013, New York - Asset International, Inc., a global provider of business intelligence through its data research, marketing services and events for the world's leading financial institutions, announced it has agreed to acquire Investor Economics.

Looking for Growth: Part II, January 2013

Bob — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:00:25 GMT

After spending the holidays in New York City, Mary Claire and I flew home to Blackhawk late last week. We are anticipating the start of a heavy travel schedule in late January as we continue to look for above average growth around the globe.

Freedom of the Press: Prime Minister David Cameron vs. Lord Justice Brian Leveson

Bob — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 11:04:19 GMT

A headline in yesterday's New York Times caught my eye, "Seeing Threat, British Press Hails Cameron as Defender" by Sarah Lyall: "It is hard to find much common ground among Britain's squabbling, competing newspapers. Not only do they naturally mistrust one another, but they also tend to divide along party lines, so that The Daily Telegraph, for instance, is generally pro-Tory, while The Guardian is generally pro-Labour. (The papers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation support whomever Mr. Murdoch supports.)"

ABM - Member Profile: Asset International prioritizes data and subscription revenue for steadier growth

Bhakti — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:55:38 GMT

Asset International, which covers the financial services industry, describes itself as "committed to aggressive growth." In the past four years, the company has acquired five businesses, including last week's acquisition of Savingforcollege.com's 529 Conference and Boot Camp. Asset International plans to co-locate the conference with its own PlanAdviser National Conference to gain new attendees and eyes on its brand. Read more

From East to West: Looking for Growth

Bob — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:08:13 GMT

The Sunday prior to the U.S. presidential election, I flew west to start a trip to the Asia/Pacific region. I stayed in Blackhawk to watch the outcome. After months of hearing about the swing states and importance of Ohio, I anticipated a late evening. But when the votes were counted it became very clear that, with the exception North Carolina, Governor Romney had lost every swing state to President Obama, who was re-elected by a wide electoral vote margin.

Sonoma County Fall 2012

Bob — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 07:17:56 GMT

I have heard from many of you over the past several months that it has been awhile since I wrote about wines and wine country. After making a stop in New York City after our trip to London, Mary Claire and I headed west to take friends, who had never visited Napa or Sonoma counties, to Northern California's wine country.

Big Data: Fund Flows Meet Distribution

Bob — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:19:34 GMT

This past Monday, Strategic Insight launched our first big data product: SimFund Pro 7.0. On IBM’s website, Bringing big data to the enterprise, it states, “Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data – so much that 90% of the data in the world has been created in the last two years alone.” For Strategic Insight, this is the first time in 20 years that we have taken our iconic fund flow database, SimFund and enhanced its usefulness for our clients by combining it with another powerful database.

Summer Turns to Fall

Bob — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:16:22 GMT

Most of us in the U.S. return to work today from the last long weekend of the summer. We are now looking forward to National Football League's first week of games, starting on Wednesday evening, with the Super Bowl Champion Giants hosting the Dallas Cowboys. This past weekend while we were visiting with friends and family in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, the collegiate football season began in earnest. And we also watched Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan officially nominated by the Republicans to challenge President Obama and Vice President Biden, who the Democrats will nominate this week in Charlotte.

August 2012: London and New York

Bob — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 06:52:39 GMT

The world's attention has turned to the Summer Olympics. NBC Universal/NBC Sports Group, which has the Olympics franchise in the U.S., has once again brought into our homes the human drama, both in victory and defeat, that the Olympics provide every two years. The opening ceremony was uniquely British and showcased London and the U.K. to the world.

Guest Blog: When Is a Bargain Not a Bargain?

Paula — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 09:50:39 GMT

When something is cheap, there is usually a good reason for it, and equities look cheap at the moment (especially in Europe).

Second Quarter Stall & the Summertime Blues

Bob — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 10:50:44 GMT

As the world watched the Greek elections last Sunday with the question of Greece remaining in the Eurozone hanging in the balance, it was clear that the uncertainty of a solution had stalled the global markets. In the end, the Greeks voted by a small margin for the conservative New Democracy party, enabling them to form a government that favors remaining part of the Eurozone while renegotiating some of their previously agreed to austerity terms.

Playing From the Rough

Bob — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 14:56:35 GMT

I am writing this as I watch Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament, which precedes the U.S. Open in two weeks. This year the U.S. Open will return for the fifth time to The Olympic Club in San Francisco at the Lakeside Course. Rory Mcllroy, who is one of the best golfers in the world at 23 and won last year's U.S. Open at the Congressional Country Club's Blue Course, has missed the last three cuts on the tour, which has created much discussion on how he will fare on the Lake Course in two weeks.

Building a High Performance Culture

Bob — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 14:52:11 GMT

Asset International continues to grow through organic growth of our core businesses and brands as well as through acquisition. As we expand, it remains important that the senior management team continues to provide a culture that allows both individuals and teams to perform at a high level and deliver on the goals we have established for the company.

Communities and Global Issues

Bob — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:33:41 GMT

Today I want to focus on the funding of retirement liabilities and will address energy independence in a future column. Retirement funding is not an issue that is limited to one country or one form of government. It is a real issue for democracies in continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as Canada and Australia. It is also a very real issue for China, as the effects of the "one child" policy come into focus. And it is a real issue for the Latin American countries, too, with Brazil and Chile taking leadership roles.

Spring & Looking Forward

Bob — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 06:56:59 GMT

After one of the warmest winters on record in New York City, we are starting to look forward to spring and Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season. It is a good point, as well, to look back and see how the two different paths traveled by the Cameron coalition government and the Obama administration to foster the fragile recovery from the Great Recession have performed.

Asset International to Launch 'Philanthropy Management' Magazine

Paula — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:25:12 GMT

Asset International plans to launch a new quarterly print publication, Philanthropy Management, next month. The magazine, which will have an initial circulation of about 11,000, will cover investment opportunities and strategies for foundations, organizations and individuals engaged in philanthropy.

On the Road

Bob — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:39:54 GMT

Two weeks ago I was able to meet with our expanded London team and together one evening we hosted an event for our London-based clients to meet the editors and directors of research at our new offices in The City. It was my pleasure to announce that John Lee, from whom we bought The Trade in 2009, would be assuming the role of Managing Director of Europe for Asset International.

Balance Sheets Never Lie

Paula — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:56:27 GMT

This financial ecosystem has evolved a long way away from “real” economic activities such as growing food, extracting minerals, processing raw materials in factories and transporting finished goods by land and sea.

Retirement & Energy Independence: Two Issues to Be Addressed

Bob — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:28:42 GMT

This weekend of NFL wild-card football has provided significant entertainment, with the New Orleans Saints, lead by Drew Brees, advancing to play the resurgent San Francisco 49ers, the Houston Texans advancing for the first time to Baltimore to play the Ravens, the New York Giants, lead by the other Manning, once again headed to Lambeau Field in Green Bay to face the defending Super Bowl champion and their MVP, Aaron Rodgers, and the surprising Denver Broncos and the amazing Tim Tebow are headed to New England, after an overtime victory against the Steelers, to play the Patriots and their field general Tom Brady.

Prime Minister David Cameron's London 2012

Bob — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:25:39 GMT

In my last column in early December, I forecast that the U.S. recovery would continue, which was confirmed later in the month. I also forecast that even though the Eurozone would enter a mild recession while the member countries continued to wrestle with the debt crisis, the United Kingdom would experience slow growth but would not join the countries on the continent in recession. Shortly after this column appeared Prime Minister David Cameron became the target of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ire when he stood alone at the December EU summit and did not vote for the new treaty.

aiCIO Opinion: What 2012 Will Bring for Pensions, Endowments, Foundations, and Other Institutional Investors

Paula — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:35:44 GMT

The coming year will see asset owners split into two groups those that remember the problems of the crisis and act to resolve them, and those that forget them and fail to act.

Photo Gallery: aiCIO Industry Innovation Awards

Paula — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:33:25 GMT

On December 1, 2011, aiCIO hosted about 150 of the world’s asset owners, consultants, asset managers, and asset servicers at New York City’s Chelsea Piers for its second annual Industry Innovation Awards. View a photo gallery of the event.

California Reference Wines & Global Trade

Bob — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:00:40 GMT

As we move further into the holiday season, it is clear that we have avoided a double-dip recession in the U.S., which was on everyone’s mind this spring, but the global economy remains under pressure, particularly in the Eurozone where long-term solutions remain elusive. It will be difficult to avoid a European recession in 2012.

Building a global information services company

Application — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:16:45 GMT

When I left Reed Business Information in January 2007, I had a plan. I wanted to build an integrated professional information services company with a strong, single market focus. I believed the capability to create deeper and richer business intelligence

Eurozone Woes & Two Interesting Ideas from my London Trip

Bob — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:58:57 GMT

While European economies continue to weaken and the U.S. manages very slow growth that has kept unemployment over 9%, it appears that the 17 sovereign countries that comprise the Eurozone are unable to commit to a comprehensive solution to Greece’s crushing debt load. The Greek problems have been known to everyone for close to two years, but during this time it has proved impossible to put together a comprehensive solution, particularly one that the two largest members of the Eurozone, France and Germany, can support.

Endnote: Building a Global Information Services Company

Application — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:54:13 GMT

As I was planning to leave Reed Elsevier's Reed Business Information division in January of 2007, I was looking forward to building an integrated professional information services company with a strong, single market focus. After having met with many other private equity teams, I decided to partner with Austin Ventures' Growth Equity team.

Welcome to Catatonia

Paula — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 06:05:59 GMT

Custodian banks are now in the fourth year of a prolonged crisis.

2011 PLANADVISER National Conference

Paula — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:00:07 GMT

View a photo gallery of PANC 2011, held September 12 14 at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando, Florida.

Deleveraging with Pain

Bob — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:40:57 GMT

As we observe the still-unresolved Greek debt crisis, it is important to realize that the deleveraging we are undergoing in the Euro Zone, the U.K. and the U.S. is a painful process. This painful and slow-moving process in Greece and the European Union has been going on much longer than the debate in the U.S. over raising the debt ceiling.

Strategic Insight Names Visionaries of the Fund Industry

Paula — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:40:39 GMT

Strategic Insight has named its list of the 60 most influential “visionaries” of the past quarter century of the US mutual fund industry.

aiCIO SAGA Series: Risk Parity Edition

Paula — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:22:37 GMT

In the first independent survey of asset owners on risk parity investment strategies, aiCIO finds general acceptance with—and likely growth in—the idea of risk weighted portfolios.

PUBEXEC.com: Asset International CEO Jim Casella Reveals What Comprises 60% of his Business … and It Might Surprise You.

Application — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:10:37 GMT

PUBEXEC.com | August 26, 2011 | Noelle Skodzinski If you don't know the name Jim Casella, especially in the b to b publishing world, you probably should. Currently the CEO and Chairman of Asset International (AI)—a leading b to b

Entrepreneurial Persistence: Steve Jobs

Bob — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:59:24 GMT

As we awaited Hurricane Irene's arrival Saturday evening in New York City, it was a good time to reflect on how we can restore growth to a sluggish global economy and the important role entrepreneurs need to play. Two weeks ago I wrote, Entrepreneurs & a Week of Volatility in the U.S. & U.K.! and stated, "I believe that we need to unleash entrepreneurs in both the U.S. & U.K. and let them, once again, create the jobs that will drive more revenue into the government coffers from an engaged workforce that has been idled by unemployment for too long."

Entrepreneurs & a Week of Volatility in the U.S. & U.K.!

Bob — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:09:16 GMT

Normally, the dog days of summer are a quiet time around the globe, when there are always preparations under way for the fall. For example, on Thursday evening the first preseason National Football League games were played. With the players strike at an end and a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement in place, the teams are starting to prepare for the regular season. Even the baseball division and wild card races do not normally draw much attention until September, but this year it has been different.

US GDP Revised Down & the Debate Continues

Bob — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:14:30 GMT

In the middle of the countdown to default and the ongoing search for political compromise, we learned yesterday that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of less than 1 percent in the first half of

From aiCIO Magazine: Risk Parity at 30,000 Feet

Paula — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:41:41 GMT

Not exactly the Donner Party’s way of crossing America. Read more here>>

Acting Responsibly

Bob — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:30:06 GMT

I have enjoyed my several weeks in Blackhawk, but I am preparing to return to New York City on Monday. The first two weeks of July are normally a quiet time for news, with many families starting vacations that often go into August. In most years this is true for New York, Washington D.C. and London, but this year it has been very different.

Monaco Fund Forum International 2011 - A Review

Bob — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:36:26 GMT

The Monaco Fund Forum International is always of major importance for the industry – in its 21st year, it is the world’s largest asset management event, and Julian Kirby, Jenny Adams, Ed Jones and team again outdid themselves. It also was a major event for Strategic Insight and Asset International this year, since we came to Monaco with almost a dozen representatives, including our chairman and CEO, Jim Casella. Jag, Rita, Mike, Jason, Jamie, Lise, Andreas, Ilaria and other colleagues from AI attended – at the same time, we had a big Strategic Insight event in NY on Monday/Tuesday as well, led by Avi Nachmany, Kevin and the US team, with close to 200 senior executives of the US fund industry – a big week all around.

A Want of Honor

Paula — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:13:35 GMT

Politics is a notoriously ignoble profession. But in any gainful pursuit the temptation to behave dishonorably is as common as the opportunity to do the right thing. In financial markets, where the sums are large, leverage multiplies returns and insiders

Monaco: Fund Forum International 2011

Bob — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 07:25:19 GMT

I am heading to Monaco tomorrow to join 10 members of our Strategic Insight team for Fund Forum International 2011, which is billed as The World’s Largest Asset Management Event. Daniel Enskat, who directs our global advisory and consulting services, will open the Distribution Summit on Monday morning with a presentation entitled, New Research: A Global Survey of the New Professional Fund Buyer & Their Changing Product Requirements.

Global Communities & Redemption

Bob — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:29:03 GMT

During the recent global financial crisis there were many predictions that live events, whether they were conferences or large expositions, would not recover until 2012 at the earliest, based on the fact that they are considered trailing indicators of a recovery. Historically this has been tied to the commitment and reservation process. Professional communities, though, have proven much more resilient in 2011 than forecast.

aiCIO VIDEO: Behind the Cover

Paula — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:27:51 GMT

aiCIO Magazine outlines the making of its June 2011 issue. View here >>

Basel III & Bank Capital Requirements

Bob — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:12:27 GMT

Two weeks ago I sat in my hotel room in Boston and watched HBO's <strong>"Too Big to Fail,"</strong> a made-for-television movie by Andrew Ross Sorkin, The characters of Hank Paulson, played by William Hurt, and Ben Bernanke, played by Paul Giamatti, brought back memories of the Fall of '08 when our financial world was spinning out of control.

Awards for Excellence 2011

Paula — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:58:50 GMT

See a photo gallery of PLANSPONSOR and PlanAdviser's Awards for Excellence, hosted March 24 at Chelsea Piers. View here>>

Boston & California Wine Country

Bhakti — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:54:58 GMT

As we approach Memorial Day, I am working in Boston this week and next. We decided last fall that our expanding client base in Boston, along with a growing number of employees, required an office to insure that we could provide the strong client service that distinguishes Asset International as a company. I am pleased to report that our new office, which will house our Boston-based team, is open for business at 255 State Street.

Global Commodities Yield Turbulence & the Arab Spring

Bob — Sun, 08 May 2011 18:39:48 GMT

Last Sunday evening as I returned to my hotel room after attending the opening reception and dinner at American Business Media's annual event in Austin, Texas, my cell phone rang and Mary Claire told me to turn on my television -- President Obama would be announcing shortly that after almost 10 years since 9/11, Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind a day that will live on infamously in history as the worst attack on American soil, had been discovered living in Pakistan and had been taken out by a team of U.S. Navy Seals.

The German Growth Engine & China

Bob — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:14:56 GMT

According to data released this past Thursday, "German unemployment fell to its lowest level in two decades in April." After years of running double-digit unemployment, the total number of unemployed fell below 3 million people for the first time since 1992. Germany's economy benefited from the strong export of autos and other products.

PEHUB.com: Asset International, Backed by Austin Ventures, Looks to Buy (but outside the U.S.)

Paula — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:10:49 GMT

Companies that provide data to fund firms aren't the sexiest investments. But Austin Ventures took a chance in early 2009 when it backed Asset International. Austin had just finished raising $900 million. The financial markets had crashed and investing in Asset International was considered a risky play.

London & Tradition

Bob — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:54:40 GMT

Since I launched Case Interactive Media with Austin Ventures in the spring of 2007 and had the vision of building a global professional information services company, I have focused on a strong foundation in two of the pillars of our global financial system, New York and London. I spend at least one week of every quarter, and sometimes longer, in London, where we have seen our business expand both through acquisition and organic growth.

From PLANADVISER's Nevin Adams: Mixed Messages

Paula — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:41:31 GMT

We had wrapped up a very successful half day adviser event ahead of our annual Awards for Excellence dinner last week. As we closed up the session, a co worker of mine commented to me as an aside, “Nobody ever

PLANSPONSOR's Nevin Adams Lands on 401k Wire's 2011 Most Influential List

Paula — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:04:11 GMT

Nevin Adams, editor in chief of PLANSPONSOR magazine, ranks No. 29 on 401kWire's 2011 Hundred Most Influential People in Defined Contribution list. Read more here>>

Document Dump: aiCIO's Better Half Is Its Art

Paula — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:44:09 GMT

We hope you like the editorial in aiCIO – but we know you like the art. View more here>>

From Global Custodian: In Praise of Social Bandits

Paula — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:42:19 GMT

From Global Custodian's Editor-in-Chief Dominic Hobson: Marco Sciarra was a Neapolitan bandit of the late 16th Century. He described himself as an “envoy of God against usurers and the possessors of unproductive wealth.” Short sellers make improbable folk heroes, scourges of big business and the banking

PlanAdviser’s Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers

Paula — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:35:34 GMT

For the past several years, Asset International publication planadviser has drawn, from the pool of nominations for PLANSPONSOR’s Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year, a list of “most successful advisers." Here is this year's edition. Read more>>

aiCIO's Joe Flood on Radio: Mayor Bloomberg's Battle Over NYC Pensions

Paula — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:16:48 GMT

Joe Flood, editor at large of aiCIO Magazine, spoke on the Brian Lehrer radio show today on aiCIO's latest cover story about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial moves to revamp and further "professionalize" the city's pensions.

Bernanke and the Fed vs. Buffett, El-Erian, Gross and the Investor

Bob — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 05:46:11 GMT

On March 2nd aiCIO reported in its Daily News, Following PIMCO's El-Erian, Warren Buffet Discourages QE2, "Echoing statements made by Pacific Investment Management Co.'s Mohamed El-Erian and Bill Gross, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett has said the US does not currently need an economic stimulus...

From Global Custodian: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Paula — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:41:53 GMT

From Global Custodian's Editor-in-Chief Dominic Hobson: That human beings deceive themselves in order to deceive others better is now a staple of evolutionary psychology, but the study of deception among animals has only stamped with the imprimatur of science what was obvious to Robert Burns as long ago as 1786.

Trillion Dollar Rescue Plan & a Changing of the Guard: Part II Ireland

Bob — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:50:04 GMT

Against the backdrop of street revolutions sweeping through the Middle East and eastern Africa and with the world focused this week on the bloodshed in the streets of Tripoli, where Colonel Qadhafi appears unwilling to leave and clings to power, vowing to fight unto his death, Ireland went to the polls this week. The Irish delivered a Democratic revolution, dealing a resounding defeat to the Fianna Fail party...

California Cult Wines’ Second Labels

Bob — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 09:19:31 GMT

It has been some time since I have devoted a column to wine, but with spring in the air this past week in New York City and most of my favorite California vineyards accepting orders for March or April shipping, I have decided to focus my attention on northern California Cult wines’ second labels.

Emerging Markets & Inflation

Bob — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:44:24 GMT

Most of the emerging market economies were able to escape the dramatic downturn that impacted the vast majority of the developed market economies. China, in particular, was the standout growth engine for the past two years, without any real competition from the western economies. This past week, though, we saw the Chinese government "continue to raise both deposit and loan rates."

Two Paths: Austerity vs. QE2

Bob — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:03:27 GMT

Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government took office after 13 years of Labour Party rule. Sensing that they had a mandate for change, the government declared that years of deficit spending were over and that they would put forth an austerity budget...Now that they have been in office for more than six months, we are starting to see that the path they have chosen is not without obstacles as they try to stabilize the economy for the long haul.

aiCIO Magazine: A Finalist in the Neal Awards Competition

Paula — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 05:05:44 GMT

aiCIO Magazine has been nominated as a finalist in the 57th Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards competition for its Interrogation series. Often called “the Pulitzer Prize of the business media," the awards represent the industry’s most prestigious and

aiCIO Awards Dinner: Asset Owner Winners

Paula — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:48:28 GMT

On December 2, 2010, aiCIO hosted asset owners and asset managers from across the globe for our inaugural Industry Innovation Awards. Watch aiCIO's Kip MicDaniel and Paula Vasan present the winners in the asset owner category.

Australia: Expanding Global Client Base

Bob — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:49:38 GMT

We announced the acquisition of <strong>Plan for Life</strong> right after the start of the New Year, Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Plan for Life was founded by Simon Solomon, who had a long history in the Insurance and Risk industries and understood the need for research, particularly as the superannuation pension scheme assets under management continued to expand. Today the company provides business intelligence for both the mutual fund and insurance/risk industries and has an unparalleled reputation for providing the highest quality data and insights for both Australia and New Zealand.

aiCIO Awards Dinner: Asset Manager / Servicer Winners

Application — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:05:19 GMT

Bridgewater's Bob Prince on Risk Parity

Application — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:56:08 GMT

On December 2, 2010, aiCIO hosted asset owners and asset managers from across the globe for our inaugural Industry Innovation Awards. Watch Bob Prince, co CIO of Bridgewater Associates, speak on risk parity. read more >>

aiCIO Awards Dinner: Opening Remarks

jigar — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:07:04 GMT

On December 2, 2010, aiCIO hosted asset owners and asset managers from across the globe for our inaugural Industry Innovation Awards. Watch the opening remarks by Editor in Chief Kip McDaniel. View video>>

Asset International (AI) Acquires Plan For Life, Australian Supplier of Mutual Fund and Insurance Business Intelligence Data

Application — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:17:52 GMT

Asset International (AI) Acquires Plan For Life, Australian Supplier of Mutual Fund and Insurance Business Intelligence Data Strong synergies with AI’s Strategic Insight unit JANUARY 4, 2011, New York – Asset International, Inc. (AI), a global provider of data and

A Hail Mary & a View of '11

Bob — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 05:11:31 GMT

After the "shellacking" that the Democrats took in the November midterm elections, the President decided two weeks ago that it was time for a compromise and a move toward the center. Yesterday, after having passed both the House and the Senate, President Obama signed it into law.

aiCIO Magazine: December Approaches – and With It, a New Edition of aiCIO

Application — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:18:26 GMT

We’ve just finished writing and editing the last of the articles for aiCIO’s year end issue – which, incidentally, is the first of our nine issues that will be printed in full and distributed to some of our audience in

PLANSPONSOR Magazine: 2010 DC Survey

Application — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:16:57 GMT

Between late June and late August 2010, approximately 35,000 survey questionnaires were sent to defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors from the PLANSPONSOR magazine database, as well as to client lists supplied by DC providers 5,929 total usable responses were received

Thanksgiving '10

Bob — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 05:30:02 GMT

While we turn to Thanksgiving in the U.S. this week, we find a global economy still looking to find its footing and to restore growth and provide full employment. The battle between strong export economies and the latest version of quantitative easing, or QE2, remains front and center as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke continues to defend this latest program to jump-start the U.S. economy.

Photo Gallery: CIOS UK 2010

Application — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 06:24:13 GMT

See photos of aiCIO's successful October Chief Investment Officer Summit in London. Designed specifically for the key decisionmakers at the world's largest asset owners, the event featured an array of panelists including Jay Vivian, former managing director of IBM Retirement

Innovation & Global Currencies

Bob — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 03:07:12 GMT

Shortly after President Obama recorded the Democrats’ “shellacking” in the midterm elections, he began a trip to Asia, starting with a visit to India. Prior to leaving he took responsibility for the large number of seats lost in the House, as well as losses in the Senate and Democratic state houses.

Strategic Insight: Stock, Bond Mutual Funds on Pace for $850B in Global Flows in 2010

Application — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:00:07 GMT

THE AMOUNT OF MONEY GOING

Application — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:43:28 GMT

THE AMOUNT OF MONEY GOING into mutual funds around the world has doubled since the financial crisis. But it's not going into the same assets or coming from the same regions as before. It amounts to a "seismic" shift with

Strategic Insight: Much Of Fnds Shift to FI in S-Trm Products

Application — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:25:40 GMT

First Published Thursday, 28 October 2010 07 00 pm © 2010 Need to Know News Asia Losing Flows To Developed Markets By Yali N'Diaye WASHINGTON (MNI) Net flows to mutual funds since the financial crisis show major shifts, both in terms

Fund flows double since crisis but fewer winners emerge

Application — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:37:07 GMT

Fund flows double since crisis but fewer winners emerge Net fund flows have almost doubled in the two years since the financial crisis but the ‘seismic shift’ the industry is undergoing means there are fewer winners, according to a Strategic

LDI 2.0

Paula — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:36:00 GMT

We need to move beyond WHETHER to execute and LDI strategy. It's time to discuss HOW.

Fall Classics

Bob — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 09:51:59 GMT

On Saturday morning we traveled back to our home in Blackhawk, in the Bay Area's East Bay. With our two-week trip to Hong Kong, Shanghai and London and time in our New York home, it has been approximately six weeks since we have been to our West Coast home. After watching the Yankees go down to defeat on Friday evening to Nolan Ryan's Texas Rangers, who have never been to a World Series, we arrived in time to see the San Francisco Giants defeat the Phillies.

Moneychanging without mystery

Application — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:50:00 GMT

Submitted by Dominic Hobson on Fri, 10 15 2010 10 06. Bankers are in an understandably cynical mood. Their industry is being traduced by the politicians who are most to blame for the financial crisis of 2007 08,

Global Clients

Bob — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:52:58 GMT

Summer gave way to fall and I have just returned from a two-week trip to London and Hong Kong. Asset International's products and services are aimed at needs of the professionals in the asset management sector and they deserve to hear the vision from the CEO of the company on how we can best meet the needs of their professional managers.

A Time for Compromise & a Proposal

Bob — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 09:35:47 GMT

We are witnessing conflicting approaches from the Democrats and Republicans to stimulate the U.S. economy, which has clearly slowed down again. After significant growth in both the 4th quarter of last year and the 1st quarter of this year, the U.S. economy experienced dramatically slower growth in the 2nd quarter and it appears that the 3rd quarter will also be below a growth rate that would have an impact on the stubbornly high unemployment rate of 9.5%-9.6%.

Asset International Takes Its Event Business Abroad

Application — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:17:57 GMT

Asset International Takes Its Event Business Abroad. The company is launching brand expansions in London and Hong Kong. Read More >>

Democracy devours itself

Application — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:12:00 GMT

Submitted by Dominic Hobson on Wed, 08 25 2010 09 47. published in Global Custodian Summer 2010 issue Democracy is the great talisman of this most meretricious of political eras. Presidents, pundits and philosophers hold it in

Dominic Hobsons blog - GC

Application — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:30:02 GMT

Dominic Hobson's blog Dominic Hobson is Editor-in-Chief of Global Custodian, the leading magazine covering the international securities services business.

Changing of the Guard & Inspiration

Bob — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:02:39 GMT

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have dominated professional golf in the United States for most of this decade. They have clearly been #1 and #2 on the PGA tour. At this point, they are still ranked 1 and 2 in the world, but they may have reached a point in their careers where we will see a changing of the guard.

Cameron & Clegg's Early Days

Bob — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:46:09 GMT

In politics, business, and life in general, one cannot choose when they take center stage, but given the opportunity, this coalition led by Cameron and Clegg seems to be making the most of the opportunity to set the United Kingdom on a new course in these early days. They have been able to withstand grousing within their own parties and hold the center -- for now.

Business & Investor Confidence

Bob — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:09:26 GMT

This past week we heard from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the U.S. recovery would continue to be slow and uneven and that the unemployment rate would remain stubbornly high into 2012.

Global Brands II

Bob — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 06:58:15 GMT

In the fall of '07, my partners at Austin Ventures and I were still in the search mode to find a platform that we could acquire and grow. It was almost a year later when we zeroed in on the institutional financial sector, with a focus on asset management. In fairly short order, we acquired Asset International, The Trade, and Strategic Insight.

PLANSPONSOR National Conference 2010

Application — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:38:21 GMT

On June 15 17, several hundred plan sponsors, retirement plan advisers and providers gathered in Chicago for the fifth annual PLANSPONSOR National Conference (PSNC). The three day agenda covered a wide range of topics revenue sharing, QDIAs, retirement income, non

Summer Competition

Bob — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:29:25 GMT

After months of turmoil in the Eurozone and the continuing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the world was ready for some Summer Competition.

OPINION: Despite – or Because of – Uncertainty, Institutional Investors Turn to Alternatives, by ai5000

Paula — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:58:53 GMT

Faced with uncertainty, institutions are turning to alternatives. With the endowment disaster of 2008 in mind, is this a good thing?

PLANSPONSOR Perspectives

olga — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:03:20 GMT

PLANSPONSOR Perspectives Nevin is Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR magazine and its Web counterpart, PLANSPONSOR.com, the nation’s leading authority on pension and retirement issues. He is also the creator, writer and publisher of PLANSPONSOR.com’s NewsDash, the industry’s leading daily source for information focused

Asset International Names Andrew Prozes to Board of Directors

Application — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:55:41 GMT

CEO of LexisNexis Group has successfully grown global professional information businesses NEW YORK, June 7, 2010 – Asset International, Inc. (“AI”), provider of information and technology to the institutional finance industry around the globe, has named Andrew Prozes to its

Asset International and Strategic Insight Appoints Matthew A. Savage as Business Development Manager

olga — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:51:36 GMT

NEW YORK, May 26, 2010 – Asset International, Inc. (“AI”), a global data, research, and information provider and publisher to institutional investors and other financial enterprises, and Strategic Insight (“SI”) announced that Matthew A. Savage, RPA has been appointed Senior

May Volatility

Bob — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:37:18 GMT

Two weeks ago in my posting, $1 Trillion Dollar Rescue Plan & a Changing of the Guard, I closed with: "This was clearly a historic week on the continent and in the United Kingdom. There is a new determination to deal with the structural issues that have left most of the countries with debt loads that the global bond markets can not support in the long run, and there is a new a resolve by these countries to put themselves on a course that will support sustainable long-term growth. The Obama administration will need to start addressing deficit reduction as well as we approach the November mid-term elections. Those of us in the private equity business will be closely watching the impact of government actions on recovering credit markets."

NYSE Confirms Price Reporting Delays That Contributed to the Flash Crash

Application — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:42:15 GMT

ai5000's Joe Flood digs into the causes of the May 6th Flash Crash — when nearly 1000 points mysteriously disappeared from the market in a matter of minutes — and unearths internal analysis leaked from a Bank That Shall Not

ai5000 2010 Chief Investment Officer Summit - NYC

olga — Fri, 28 May 2010 11:38:04 GMT

On May 20 & 21, ai5000 hosted it's first (of what we hope is many) Chief Investment Officer Summits (CIOS). For two days, we gathered together asset owners from across America, as well as industry experts, consultants, and service providers.

SI Blog

Application — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:16:40 GMT

annuityinsight.com strategicinsightglobal.com simfundfiling.com

Let Them Eat Cake

Robert — Sun, 16 May 2010 07:54:29 GMT

A weaker Euro helps German exports just as a weaker dollar helps U. S. exports. Germany is gaining far more from the weaker Euro than it is paying to bail-out Greece.

$1 Trillion Dollar Rescue Plan & a Changing of the Guard

Bob — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:52:15 GMT

As we headed to JFK early on Monday morning for our BA flight to London, we learned that over the weekend the Eurozone leaders had fashioned a rescue plan that went well beyond Greece and assured the world that Spain and Portugal would not be the next dominoes to fall. Shortly thereafter both countries announced new austerity moves to further assure the world debt markets that they were serious about bringing down their debt levels as a percentage of GDP.

Once is not Enough

Robert — Sun, 16 May 2010 07:59:20 GMT

This study proves not just that western governments can make significant budget sacrifices, it shows that they will make such sacrifices -- because they must -- again and again.

Don't miss our coverage of the Dow Jones dramatic drop and the ongoing impact of the Greek debt crisis and the U.K.'s recent election:

olga — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:23:11 GMT

Yesterday, at one point, the Dow Jones was down nearly 1000 points. Although quick opinion coalesced around the story of a fat fingered trader, there was – and is – more at play. To provide insight from various angles –

Who's Who in Business Publishing

olga — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:23:36 GMT

Sometimes Being Clever Isn't Smart

Robert — Fri, 07 May 2010 08:00:34 GMT

Yesterday stands as a metaphor for the market as a whole in the last decade, when clever substitutes for smart and size trumps sense. When too big to fail means too big to even care, something has to give.

What a 998-Point Drop Means

Kristopher — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:47:54 GMT

ai5000 editor-in-chief Kip McDaniel takes a look at yesterday’s market movements – and what it means for continued uncertainty.

Political Theatre & Deals

Bob — Wed, 05 May 2010 05:05:49 GMT

Last week Michigan Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations, brought Goldman Sachs' (GS) Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein and a number of his colleagues to Washington, D.C. to hold a hearing on the fabled Abacus derivative deal.

Trust Me, I'm a Professional

Robert — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:55:27 GMT

Bond ratings should be like getting your home inspected in California: the inspector (the rating agency) should be liable for his or her mistakes.

When PIIGS Fly

Bob — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:11:25 GMT

We learned last week that air travel could be disrupted by volcanoes, as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland and brought European air traffic to a halt. Thousands were stranded on both sides of the Atlantic. As we gradually work our way back to a normal schedule, we are learning that one of Iceland's other volcanoes, Katla, is overdue for an eruption.

Hedged Into a Corner

Robert — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:13:54 GMT

Hedging risk is great in theory but often hard to do well, as the Great Recession clearly shows. Goldman Sachs, in fact, may have hedged itself all the way out of business. Really.

The T Word

Robert — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:57:26 GMT

Trust through transparency is a completely different creature based on the novel idea that people say what they mean, do what they say they will, and make things that work because you can see how they work inside. Those workings are transparent, get it?

Views on Goldman

Kristopher — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:43:56 GMT

A great piece from the New York Times...

Eagles

Bob — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:12:00 GMT

Two years ago today I wrote in The Masters Tradition: “There is one weekend every spring that I clear my calendar from early afternoon until early evening, the weekend of the Masters. I find myself seduced by the beauty of the course, particularly Amen Corner, combined with the challenge it holds for the world’s best golfers and its unique traditions. There is something special at the end of this tournament when the prior year’s winner puts the Green Jacket on the new champion...

Who Ever Thought There Could Be Pension Grudge Matches?

Kristopher — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:48:03 GMT

I was recently quoted in Canada’s Globe & Mail – the True North’s only real national newspaper, equivalent to the New York Times – on the issue of internal alternative investment management at the Canadian giants – CPPIB, Caisse, PSPIB, AIMco, Ontario Teachers’...

For Greenspan 70 Percent is Not a Passing Grade

Robert — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:55:20 GMT

Seventy percent correct, while it may sound good, actually isn't good at all, as Simonyi proved. Seventy percent is terrible. What's amazing is that Greenspan still doesn't seem to understand this today.

Goodbye Detroit, Hello Dearborn

Robert — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:23:06 GMT

Cities come and cities go and Detroit is in the process of going, replaced perhaps by Dearborn, home of Ford Motor Company, which still makes money. Dearborn has more space than squalor, a good tax base, and an educated population. Dearborn is the anti-Detroit to its sister city.

Score One Up For the Passives

Kristopher — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:34:53 GMT

In the Active v. Passive debate, score one up for the latter.

Score One Up For the Passives

Kristopher — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:52:40 GMT

In the Active v. Passive debate, score one up for the latter.

PLANSPONSOR Announces Winners of Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year

olga — Tue, 25 May 2010 03:00:50 GMT

PLANSPONSOR Announces Winners of Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year Stamford, CT – At the PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER 2010 Awards for Excellence dinner in New York Thursday Rick Wedge of Novato, California based Northgate Benefits, an

Spring & the Eurozone

Bob — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:40:42 GMT

As we close out the first quarter of the new calendar and fiscal year, almost all businesses are finding that their year-over-year performance has improved significantly. The first quarter of '09 represented the depth of the Great Recession, when the world as we knew it unraveled before our eyes. When earnings are released for the first quarter of '10 we will see, without exception, improvements in all sectors of the business media, including those newspapers that survived the downturn.

2010 PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards

olga — Mon, 31 May 2010 23:04:50 GMT

On March 25, 2010, the nation's most accomplished employers, advisers, and alternative investment professionals were honored at PLANSPONSOR PLANADVISER Annual Awards for Excellence. Click to see more >.

NPR Picking on Public Funds. Again.

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:56:10 GMT

NPR continues its (possibly justified) assault on public pensions.

Saving Money May Be a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Robert — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:34:05 GMT

Whatever Bernanke, Dodd, Geithner, and Obama finally do to reform the current U. S. financial system may matter less to our future prosperity than the painful lessons we’ve been learning as a people. It’s us, not them.

Who Killed M3? Part Two

Application — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:43:59 GMT

It was all about fooling the Saudis and the Chinese, then, and the American people. It is doubtful that M3 was killed to deliberately set the stage for the Great Recession. But that’s what happened.

Who Killed M3?

Robert — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:27:17 GMT

By dropping M3 the Bush Administration was deliberately blinding both itself and the markets -- poking out eyes apparently to keep the good times rolling for a few months longer.

Public Pension Map

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:26:55 GMT

We didn't make it, but we like it: an interactive map of public pension funding levels, state-by-state.

Who Does No-Bid Contracts Anymore, Anyways?

Kristopher — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:43:15 GMT

On March 4, the Board of the San Diego Country Employees’ Retirement Association (SDCERA, which, for some reason, very much appeals to me as an acronym) met to discuss...

The Lehman

Paula — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:49:40 GMT

The range of savviness among these major banks hasn’t been much. If the distance form dumbest to smartest is only 2.0, as it appears to be, then God help us all.

Find the McAloo Tikki

Bob — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 07:47:03 GMT

Our Strategic Insight Global team recently published a detailed report on the rapidly growing middle class investor in emerging markets. The report describes the rapid growth in markets such as China and India and the need for asset managers looking to grow to find ways to enter these markets and to be sure to not underestimate the differences and potential obstacles these markets pose versus their home markets.

All Bets Are Off

Robert — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:43:45 GMT

There are likely to be some technological effects coming along that will change almost everything we worry about today. For example, what would be the impact on Social Security, Medicare, and U. S. federal entitlements (and the national debt as a consequences) if we all lived essentially forever?

Pound Sterling

Bob — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:59:52 GMT

With the concerns about the fiscal integrity of Greece and several other Eurozone members, the Euro has been under the most significant pressure since it was introduced as a common currency more than 8 years ago. There has been much speculation that it could fall to parity with the US dollar.

This Was (Is) Not Your Father’s Recession

Application — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:09:20 GMT

Recessions aren’t supposed to be subjective things. They come down to GDP growth or the lack of it. If GDP growth is negative, we are technically in a recession. If GDP growth is positive, we are not in a recession. Right now, technically, we are not in a recession. But practically we are still in a recession.

PLANSPONSOR Announces 2010 Plan Sponsors of the Year

olga — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:59:11 GMT

STAMFORD, CT, March 1, 2010—PLANSPONSOR today proudly announces the 2010 winners of its annual Plan Sponsor of the Year awards across four distinct workplace segments Corporate sector NV Energy, Inc. Las Vegas, Nevada Nonprofit 403(b)

Panic Attack

Application — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:36:35 GMT

According to a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession wasn’t the result of a bursting housing bubble at all but rather a bank panic in the long tradition of American bank panics. Yes, subprime mortgage securitization was a mess -- a house of cards probably doomed to fall -- but subprime by itself simply wasn’t big enough to put the entire financial system at risk. That required a failure of the Renew Sale and Repurchase (REPO) market for collateralized securities that over the last 30 years had quietly come to backstop global finance

Heads We Win, Tails You Lose

Application — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:34:12 GMT

If Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein were the boss of a Las Vegas casino instead of a New York investment bank, his firm’s front-running and derivative trading against customers would have been a class B felony. Instead of $9 million in Goldman shares, his bonus this year would have been 1-6 years in prison and a minimum $10,000 fine on each count, of which there were presumably thousands.

Heads We Win, Tails You Lose

Robert — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:34:44 GMT

About Us Asmw

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:27:05 GMT

Combining the intellectual capital of famed financial author ‘Adam Smith’ and well known technology columnist Robert X. Cringely, Asset International is announcing Adam Smith’s Money World. Through their unparalleled access to market players, their understanding of how financial markets and

Dow Jones turns to Daniel Enskat for article on the Global Shift in Asset Management

Bob — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:20:12 GMT

The rapid rise of a middle class in developing nations is set to shake up the asset-management industry. The number of global investors is projected to rise to up to 2.2 billion from about 500 million over the next decade or so, and asset managers will have to adapt within the next few years or be left behind, says Daniel Enskat, head of global consulting at Strategic Insight, a fund research and consulting firm.

Who Can You Trust?

Paula — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:01:41 GMT

People operating on borrowed Social Security numbers are more reliable bill payers than the rest of us. They can't afford to get in trouble with the electric company because that would draw attention to them. So there is a tacit agreement between the parties that a Social Security number must be provided because that's the rule, but if it happens to be someone else's Social Security number, well that's okay.

Who Can You Trust?

Application — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:23:16 GMT

The Credit Suisse Risk Appetite Index is headed down again toward Panicsville even before we’ve left for sure the Great Recession. America has an employment crisis atop a housing crisis. Government stimulus is ending before it has done enough good, yet government seems to have no new ideas. And meanwhile the money

London, Winter Storms & Valuable Data

Bob — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:47:44 GMT

I spent the past week in London. While it was colder than normal, I missed the February blizzard that blanketed the northeast U.S. on Wednesday. Over the past several years, Mary Claire and I have managed to be in New York City for each of the major February snowstorms. This time she got to enjoy the winter wonderland without me. It was hard to gauge on this trip if the Labour Party was bouncing back in time for the spring election or if the Tories had peaked too early, and no one I spoke with seemed ready to make a prediction.

PLANSPONSOR Announces 2010 Finalists for Pension and Retirement Plan Sponsors of the Year

olga — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:33:56 GMT

February 9, 2010 – PLANSPONSOR, the nation’s leading retirement plan resource, today announced the 2010 finalists for its annual Plan Sponsor of the Year awards, across four distinct workplace segments...

Nassim Taleb and The Black Swans

Paula — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:00:45 GMT

I read The Black Swan in 2007 when it came out, and found it very intriguing. It is a mixture of autobiographical anecdote and sharp statistical analysis. I used the idea as part of a speech at Harvard, and the audience, at the question time, ignored most of my talk and concentrated on my discussion of Black Swans. "When is the next Black Swan?" they wanted to know. "What is it likely to be?" (Of course, those questions, according to the black swan idea, show you don't get it.) So, I welcomed the opportunity to have lunch with Nassim Taleb.

Nassim Taleb and The Black Swans

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:41:00 GMT

Blame it on Mike Milken

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:40:29 GMT

The founder of every new business hopes that what he or she creates will eventually become not just a business, but an industry. When I started in the personal computer business in 1977 it wasn’t an industry; global sales were probably under $30 million not just for Apple, where I worked, but for all the little PC

Blame it on Mike Milken

Robert — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:59:15 GMT

There is no real difference between junk bonds in the 1980s, day trading in the late 1990s or trading mortgage-backed securities two years ago. All three markets were artificially expanded beyond what they could reasonably sustain. They didn’t scale.

Three Pension Trends from Three European Funds

Kristopher — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:14:13 GMT

I just returned from a trip to Paris and Geneva, where, over the course of three days I sat with three different pension fund leaders to discuss what’s happening in the European institutional space. What I saw and heard was encouraging.

The Field General

Bob — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:27:39 GMT

As we approach Super Sunday, most of us have had our teams bow out early. After a surprising win over the Patriots two years ago, the Giants did not even make the playoffs this year. Dallas won their first playoff game but exited the next week when they came up against Brett Favre and the Vikings. The Patriots are starting to show their age and the lack of top-quality draft picks, due to their three Super Bowl rings in the last decade, has not helped.

The Venture Capital Probem

Kristopher — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:34:47 GMT

The big VC hangover today was caused by this simple misunderstanding: firms thought they could scale-up their businesses and make even more money as a result. If your $100 million venture fund is replaced by a $1 billion fund, why not just make every deal 10 times as big? Because it doesn’t work that way.

The Venture Capital Problem

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:39:37 GMT

Last time I wrote about the importance to the U.S. economy of technology startups -- an importance that is generally misunderstood by government. More on that below. But first let’s take a look at how venture capital has failed America. There was a time in Silicon Valley when starting a company meant buildi

Cool the Populist Rhetoric

Bob — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:09:13 GMT

The amount of populist rhetoric coming from both sides of the political aisle in the U.S. has been escalating over the past several weeks.

Restarting America

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:45:32 GMT

Small companies create jobs in America. Companies less than five years old generated nearly two-thirds of the new jobs created in the U. S. in 2007. But what’s even more important is that without these startups more jobs would be lost than created, the U. S. economy would permanently shrink and America would eventually lose its superpower status, simple as that.

Restarting America

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:38:47 GMT

Small companies create jobs in America. According to a recent study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, companies less than five years old generated nearly two-thirds of the new jobs created in the U. S. in 2007. But what’s even more important is that without these startups more jobs would be lost than created

Carrots and Sticks

Application — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:34:25 GMT

As my buddy Adam Smith points out, former Fed chairman Paul Volcker is suddenly back in the news providing gravitas and moral outrage to support proposed new restrictions on how banks can trade for their own accounts. Nobody was listening to Volcker, Adam tells us in Volcker’s own words, and then suddenly the Wh

Carrots and Sticks

Paula — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:44:00 GMT

Volcker

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:41:58 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Paul Volcker on the street, with his secretary and close friend, Anka.

Volcker

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:36:24 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Paul Volcker on the street, with his secretary and close friend, Anka. (Possible conflict of interest in this story: Volcker was on the Advisory Board of Adam Smith Global Television. He didn't advise much, and it was good of him to let his name be used on the stationery. Mostly, A

Still the Right Position: A Second Term for Ben

Bob — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:45:51 GMT

With one week left in Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's first term, a sense of unease rattled the stock markets yesterday as several Democratic Senators (Boxer & Feingold) announced that they would not support President Obama's nomination of Chairman Bernanke for a second term. I wrote "A Second Term for Ben" (see below) in late August and shortly thereafter the president nominated him for a second term.

Off-Track Betting

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:40:10 GMT

It’s a shame that thoroughbred horse racing is in decline as a sport because there are so many good lessons to be learned at the track. But high real estate costs and declining attendance of an aging fan base suggest that we’d better learn those lessons as quickly as we can, so here’s the first. Any old handicapper at any old track will tell you that 85 percent of betters lose on average, 10 percent break-even, and five percent are winners.

Off-Track Betting

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:35:30 GMT

How Do You Make $5 Billion In One Year With Low RIsk?

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:38:08 GMT

The New Yorker issue of January 18 is worth reading just for six paragraphs. That is, for the investment minded.

How Do You Make $5 Billion In One Year With Low RIsk?

Application — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:31:08 GMT

The New Yorker issue of January 18 is worth reading just for six paragraphs. That is, for the investment minded. The magazine is consistently interesting in many areas, but this issue has an article called "The Sure Thing," on risk and the perception of risk. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, wrote "The Tipping Point,"

TARP Payback: Act II

Bob — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:42:11 GMT

As we closed out calendar year '09, our largest financial institutions were able to end a very difficult chapter of the Great Recession by paying back their TARP funds. These funds were paid back with interest and the federal government realizing an additional return through warrant coverage. This signified that our financial system was on the road to recovery.

The Bubble Makers

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:46:29 GMT

The Bubble Makers

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:06:57 GMT

This is my first post explicitly for Adamsmithsmoneyworld.com, so let me introduce myself. I’m Bob Cringely, Adam Smith’s sidekick. My background is in technology. I am Stanford to Adam’s Harvard and Oxford. I’ve been a blogger since 1997 over at cringely.com where I have more than 300,000 weekly readers. But they

Planning for 2010 III: - Global Allocations for the Optimist: 50-50 or 33-33-33?

Bob — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:38:40 GMT

Avi Nachmany, Director of Research, Strategic Insight, an Asset International Company I may be traveling on a fast train between Madrid and Seville on a short family vacation, but I am not just thinking about Spain. I am also

Needs More Sugar

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:19:40 GMT

"All politics is local,” said Tip O’Neill, and it is true.Even politicians on the national stage are dependent on local or regional voters to return them to office. And so despite the national or international rhetoric, local values and concerns always have to be met in the end, something we are likely to see ahead in the way our economy is managed.

Needs More Sugar

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:06:08 GMT

" All politics is local,” said Tip O’Neill, and it is true. Even politicians on the national stage are dependent on local or regional voters to return them to office. And so despite the national or international rhetoric, local values and concerns always have to be met in the end, something we are likely to see ah

Letter to Paul Krugman: We Need a New Deal

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:05:15 GMT

Paul, When I was at your house on Sunday, you said the stimulus was not going to be enough, and faulted Bernanke for not backing additional stimulus. But additional stimulus would have to be voted by the Congress. And all the political folk say there is “no political will” for more stimulus. Furthermore I men

Letter to Paul Krugman: We Need a New Deal

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:10:34 GMT

Paul: When I was at your house on Sunday, you said the stimulus was not going to be enough, and faulted Bernanke for not backing additional stimulus...

Pull My Plug, Please.

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:08:56 GMT

Sometimes, only sometimes, the financial community comes up with an apt metaphor. One that struck me recently from a Wall Street Journal conference on lessons learned from the Great Crisis of 2008 is that large banks should have “Living Wills.”

Pull My Plug, Please.

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:04:29 GMT

Bernanke, No. Grandma, yes!

Application — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:03:20 GMT

Time made a mistake when it announced this week that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke should be its Person of the Year . But if Bernanke was a mistake, who should be Person of the Year ? I nominate Grandma — your Grandma, my Grandma, every Grandma — because Grandmothers as a group are doing a better job

Bernanke, No. Grandma, yes!

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:07:02 GMT

Time made a mistake when it announced this week that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke should be its Person of the Year. But if Bernanke was a mistake, who should be Person of the Year? I nominate Grandma — your Grandma, my Grandma, every Grandma — because Grandmothers as a group are doing a better job than Ben is this year at propping-up the American way of life.

Planning for 2010 II - There's No Way You Can Bet Against America & Win (Warren Buffet)

olga — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:53:05 GMT

I Googled Warren Buffet's eloquent quote from the depth of the recent economic crisis. Joe Weisenthal at The Business Insider Website (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/joe-weisenthal">http://www.businessinsider.com/author/joe-weisenthal</a>)

The Godfather & Jobs

Bob — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:45:23 GMT

After a U.S. jobs report from the Labor Department showed modest gains in November, last Friday’s report for December showed a loss of another 85,000 jobs. We also learned on Friday that the Eurozone’s unemployment rate has now joined the U.S. at 10%+. These unemployment rates remain stubbornly high, in spite of the fact that both economies grew in the second half of ‘09.

Planning for 2010, I: Tectonic Plate Shifts and the Insatiable Demand for Bond Funds

Bob — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:31:27 GMT

What are the critical issues facing the mutual fund industry in 2010 and beyond? The following post is the first of a three-part series inspired by Strategic Insight's recently published forecast for the mutual fund industry, “Looking Ahead to 2010.” Here, SI Director of Research Avi Nachmany raises concerns about the surge in demand for bond mutual funds. Look for further posts on equity mutual funds and global asset allocation.

Looking Forward to a New Decade

Internal — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:49:16 GMT

For the first time in many years, Mary Claire and I had our family join us at our home in Blackhawk for the entire holiday season. The Bay Area at this time of year has winter, but a more temperate

Guest Blogger: Tech Czar Robert X. Cringely on 'Predators and Parasites'

Kristopher — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:59:30 GMT

Dr. Al Wojnilower of Drill Capital is as good an economist as God can make and here’s a chilling statement he made in a recent research note “In ‘old fashioned’ recessions, once inventories were pared, companies rehired the workers they

Blog by Adam Smith's Money World(2)

Kristopher — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:14:53 GMT

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Blog by Kip McDaniel(2)

Kristopher — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:14:15 GMT

Blog by Kip McDaniel

Blog by Jim Casella(2)

Kristopher — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:15:29 GMT

Blog by Jim Casella

Guest Blogger: Adam Smith (the living author, not the 18th century one) on Bank Living Wills

Kristopher — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:16:23 GMT

Starting in the new year, Asset International and ai5000 begin a partnership with famed tech-writer Robert X. Cringely and prolific author Adam Smith—he of bestsellers The Money Game and Supermoney, among many others. As a teaser, here is a post by Smith on the idea of “Living Wills” at banks. Enjoy.

Blog By Robert Cringely

Application — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:01:06 GMT

Blog By Robert CringelyAnd this is the part where I write some things in here so we have something to look at that isn't blank space. You know, blank space might be getting the shaft these days. I mean, what's

Blog by Adam Smith

Application — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:02:12 GMT

Blog by Adam Smith And this is the part where I write some things in here so we have something to look at that isn't blank space. You know, blank space might be getting the shaft these days. I mean, what's

Blog by Jim Casella

Paula — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 06:13:36 GMT

Blog by Jim Casella And this is the part where I write some things in here so we have something to look at that isn't blank space. You know, blank space might be getting the shaft these days. I mean, what's

Blog by Adam Smith's Money World

Application — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:59:11 GMT

Blog by Adam Smith's Money WorldAnd this is the part where I write some things in here so we have something to look at that isn't blank space. You know, blank space might be getting the shaft these days. I

aiCIO Blog by Kip McDaniel

jigar — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:45:13 GMT

Blog by Kip McDanielOriginally a member of the Brat Pack, Adam Smith once had a bright future as a teen heart throb before falling victim to the jealous scheming of Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen. Once outed from the group,

Blog List

Application — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:16:58 GMT

The World Money BlogAnd this is the part where I write some things in here so we have something to look at that isn't blank space. You know, blank space might be getting the shaft these days. I mean, what's

One-Two Punch

Bob — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:34:41 GMT

I wrote several weeks ago regarding Kip McDaniel's foresight in his initial ai5000 cover story on the problems brewing in Dubai. Now we know that there were deep-seated debt problems that could only be abated by Abu Dhabi extending a $10B lifeline, with lots of strings attached. This month in the Winter Issue of ai5000, Asset International's founder Charles Ruffel opens with an editorial on the suit that California Attorney General Jerry Brown has initiated against State Street Bank.

TARP Payback & Darling's Bonus Tax

Bob — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:13:11 GMT

The recent news in New York has been positive for the institutional financial services sector. Two weeks ago Bank of America (BAC) surprised most analysts by announcing that they had worked out an agreement to pay back the $45B of

When Gordon Liddy Is Trying To Sell You Gold, Should You Be Buying It?

Kristopher — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:16:41 GMT

The question, then, is: If Gordon Liddy is trying to sell you gold, should you be buying it?

Status Symbol Leverage vs. Resource Leverage

Kristopher — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:10:13 GMT

It’s not that I had foresight. It’s that I had a plane ticket.

Strategic Insight Recognized for its Influence on Industry

Application — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:36:34 GMT

Congratulations to Avi Nachmany, once again named to the MutualFundWire.com's list of the Forty Most Influential People in Fund Distribution

Thanksgiving '09: Act II

Bob — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:11:21 GMT

Last year as we prepared for Thanksgiving, the disturbing news reached us from Mumbai, India that a massacre of innocent individuals was taking place and it was focused on two very well known international hotels, the Taj and the Oberoi,

Revisiting Dubai (S)Inc.

Kristopher — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:56:12 GMT

Yesterday’s news of Dubai World asking for a six-month reprieve on $60 billion in debt repayments has sent global financial markets into a downfall not seen in many months. It should not have: The Emirate’s troubles are not a surprise -- many observers, including ai5000, have been warning of trouble at Dubai World for months now.

Thanksgiving '09

Bob — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:39:51 GMT

This Thursday when we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with our family and friends the majority of us will be thankful for surviving the Great Recession and seeing a very challenging year for the global economy come to an end.

2009 Global Custodian Awards

olga — Mon, 31 May 2010 23:16:43 GMT

Click to see PHOTO GALLERY

A Totally Unsubstantiated Hypothesis: The Reason for Bloomberg’s, Corzine’s Election Troubles

Kristopher — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:13:53 GMT

The backlash against Wall Street continues, if only in a roundabout way. As a government major in college, one of the (few) lessons I retained was that, in American politics, money matters. In the vast majority of elections, the

Who Will Lead the Recovery?

Bob — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:27:38 GMT

It was reported late last week that the United Kingdom's economy continued to contract in the third quarter. GDP was reported to be down by 0.4 percent vs. the 2nd quarter. (FT/The Lex Column October 24, 2009) This represented a record sixth consecutive quarter of contraction, the longest since World War II. It was down 5.2% from the year-earlier period. (WSJ October 24, 2009) This contrasted with the eurozone recovery, where many are forecasting GDP to improve by 0.9 percent, largely fueled by a stronger recovery in France and Germany.

Asset International Appoints Thomas Wright as Chief Financial Officer

Application — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:43:05 GMT

STAMFORD, CT, October 19, 2009 – Asset International, Inc. (“AI”), a global publisher and information provider to institutional investors and other financial enterprises, announced that Thomas Wright has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. He reports to Jim Casella, Chief Executive Officer.

Dealmakers Are Back

Bob — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:50:44 GMT

In the past few weeks we have seen the busiest IPO market all year with IPOs from high-growth companies like A123 Systems in the alternative energy sector and Shanda Games in the Chinese gaming sector. More recently, Blackstone Group announced it would take some of its investments public. Private equity and venture capital firms finally have a public exit alternative again.

To LP or Not to LP: That Is the Canadian Pension Question.

Kristopher — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:06:18 GMT

I’m starting an article for our third edition of ai5000, out in December. It’s on the Canadian defined benefit pension trend towards creating internal alternative investment platforms – mostly private equity arms. All the largest Canadian pubic plans seem to

The Tobin Tax Proposal 2 Weeks Later: Still a Bad Idea; The Presidents Cup

Bob — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:31:14 GMT

I woke up Saturday morning in Blackhawk ready to focus on college football, The Presidents Cup in Harding Park and an afternoon round of golf on The Lakeside Course, where two weeks ago the LPGA held the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge, which was won by Sophie Gustafson.

No More Excuses, and a Changed Perspective

Bob — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:49:51 GMT

The meteoric success of Carmignac, an investment manager based in Paris, is forcing the industry to think again beyond its box. In just one year, Carmignac's flagship fund went from #40 in assets in Europe to number one. Overall the boutique captured $15 billion of net inflows through the summer, while many other companies struggled to get back on their feet. How did they do it, and what does it mean for the industry?

Fall Harvest & Mad Men

Bob — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:59:43 GMT

Yesterday Mary Claire and I flew back to our Blackhawk home in northern California. Blackhawk sits in the East Bay at the base of Mt. Diablo, which provides the highest vista in the Bay Area. The weather in the East

DiNapoli and Moral Investing

Kristopher — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:12:40 GMT

Last week, New York City was a madhouse, all Presidents and Prime Ministers and Diplomats. The Asset International offices, for better or for worse, are a block away from the Waldorf Astoria, where many of them—including President Obama—were staying. Getting

The Tobin tax proposal: A Bad Idea

Bob — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:09:40 GMT

When I was in London several weeks ago, Lord Turner, chair of the Financial Services Authority, revived an old idea, the Tobin tax. ... The Labour Party's Adair Turner believes that today's financial services sector has grown too large and a Tobin tax would help to bring it in line and reduce the excesses that lead to the global financial crisis.

PLANADVISER National Conference 2009

olga — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:08:17 GMT

With a record number in attendance, attendees certainly got a chance to be "One Step Ahead"... PHOTO GALLERY >

Global Recovery

Bob — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:54:54 GMT

I returned to New York City late on Thursday evening from a week in China. My trip, as I wrote in Summer's End, was built around SWIFT's Sibos 2009 event in Hong Kong. It coincided with the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' filing for bankruptcy. As one looked around the exhibition hall in Hong Kong, it is clear that we are in a recovery.

A Sneak Preview

Kristopher — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:59:16 GMT

On Tuesday, our second digital edition of ai5000 comes out. While it has an Asian bent to it – the cover story is on China, and one main feature is on Singapore’s Central Provident Fund it covers a wide breadth

A Suggestion: Testing Stimulus Efficacy with... Gasp!... Evidence

Kristopher — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:22:07 GMT

I’m flummoxed by the debate over the efficacy of The Stimulus in America. The rhetoric from the White House is that disaster was avoided through the joint efforts of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, The Executive, and Congress the rhetoric

Small Businesses Have Needs Too

Bob — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:17:55 GMT

This is a guest blog post by Jason Cassidy, Asset International's Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development.   By Jason Cassidy   The barber shop where I get my best insight on the economy, the local plumber who received many phone calls from my wife when I tried to remodel our bathroom m

Summer's End

Bob — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:14:47 GMT

As we celebrate Labor Day in the Bay Area, it is clear that summer is coming to an end. I returned to Blackhawk from a week in London, where Gordon Brown and the Labour Party continue to surprise me by still surviving. It looks like Brown will make it until he must call for an election in the spring. We are evaluating several acquisitions for further expansion in London.

Are SWFs Overemphasized in the Media? Yes.

Kristopher — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:54:44 GMT

Are sovereign wealth funds really deserving of all the press they garner? I get Google Alerts each morning—ranging from “pension fund investment” to “endowment CIO”—but the one that continually has the most bulk to it is “sovereign wealth fund.” I

Not Just Bad Journalism. Not Journalism at All.

Kristopher — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:03:37 GMT

I’m watching an unnamed news channel. Their headline “After the break… We discuss the pros and cons to the President’s health care plan.” When the network returns from commercial, the guests, of which there are two, have both worked in

Robert de Niro, Snoop Dogg and Chindonesia: Cross-Border Melting--Pot Movies and the Global Fund Industry

Bob — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:27:41 GMT

$250 billion in net flows to equity and fixed-income funds in the first half of 2009, the best performance for stocks in any quarter since the late 1990s and the 20th consecutive week of positive long-term mutual fund flows through mid-August 2009 helped draw investors cautiously back into investments. Especially emerging markets and Asia are described as having turned the corner to once again lead the way as a growth driver for the industry.

A Second Term for Ben

Bob — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:06:51 GMT

In my last posting, "Goldman Sachs' Swagger," I received more feedback than usual and it was more mixed than usual, but I stand by my position that while the company's over performance has resulted in some arrogant behavior, the firm and its partners are not evil. One of the people I heard from was the famous journalist and columnist, Robert X. Cringely.

Harvard, Harvard, Harvard

Kristopher — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:09:20 GMT

No one ever went broke writing about Harvard. I certainly haven’t. Here’s a little secret I can tell what you’re reading. I don’t mean I can see what individuals are reading, but I can tell, en masse, what the readers

Goldman Sachs' Swagger

Bob — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:09:44 GMT

In the July 26th issue of New York Magazine, Joe Hagan raised the question: is Goldman Sachs (GS) just extremely good at what it does or evil? This followed a July 2nd article in Rolling Stone by Matt Taibbi entitled "Inside the Great American Bubble Machine."

Merger

Bob — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:58:13 GMT

by Kevin Ng On July 30, 2009, Strategic Insight (SI) announced its merger with Asset International (AI), adding to AI’s suite of services for the financial services market PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Global Custodian, aitrade, and ai5000. Reflecting on this merger, I

MassPRIM, Meet Mr. Buffett

Kristopher — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:40:20 GMT

Having recently read Roger Lowenstein’s classic biography of Warren Buffett, and, at the same time, been writing about the Massachusetts public pension plan’s move away from alternatives, I am struck with conflicting views. For one, I would commend the

Austin-Backed B2B Platform Asset International Buys 2 Cos. (Dow Jones-LBO Wire)

Application — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:52:38 GMT

Austin Backed B2B Platform Asset International Buys 2 Cos. Rimin Dutt, July 31, 2009 Austin Ventures backed B2B publisher Asset International Inc. has added two more companies to its portfolio, buying Strategic Insight, a research, data and analytics firm; and The Trade Ltd., a London-based provider of news and events for institutional investors.

Hedge Fund Fee Tradeoffs

Kristopher — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:58:08 GMT

The two staple queries of financial reportage “where’s the economy headed?”, and “are hedge fund fees going to fall?” Both have been a cause of awkward interview pauses for the past decade. While the first one is essentially unanswerable –

Asset International Agrees to Acquire Strategic Insight

Application — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:10:37 GMT

NEW YORK, July 29, 2009 - Asset International, Inc. ("AI") has agreed to acquire Strategic Insight (“SI”), a research and technology firm serving the investment management industry. SI will join Asset International’s other prominent industry brands, including PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Global Custodian, ai5000, and The Trade.

Recovery Part II

Bob — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:15:33 GMT

In my last posting, I wrote about what the B2B industry will look like as it emerges in &#8217 10 and &#8217 11 from the deep recession (<a href="http www.caseinteractivemedia.com blog ?p=217">B2B Media Business on the Recovery A Sneak Preview<

B2B Media Business on the Recovery: A Sneak Preview

Application — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:20:33 GMT

We have been in the middle of the perfect storm since last September. Beginning with the demise of Lehman Brothers through February of this year, all of the markets were in free fall. The only other period that I can compare this to is after 9/11 in the fourth quarter of 2001, when the economies of the world ground to a halt and Herculean efforts were required to jump-start the world stock exchanges. While the wheels of commerce ground to a halt during both of these periods, this recession has been much deeper and cut a wider path of destruction.

Asset International Names Jason Cassidy Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development

Application — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:11:31 GMT

STAMFORD CT July 6, 2009 – Asset International, Inc. (“AI”) announced that Jason Cassidy has been appointed Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development. He reports to Jim Casella, Chief Executive Officer.

Asset International Buys The TRADE (Folio.com)

Application — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:25:34 GMT

Stamford, Connecticut-based Asset International announced last week that it purchased The Trade Ltd, the London-based publisher of The Trade and other products targeting institutional investors and the buy-side electronic trading community.

2009 Plan Designs

olga — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:08:41 GMT

The theme of this year's Plan Designs conference in Chicago was 'Next Generation of Defined Contribution Designs' PHOTO GALLERY

Asset International Agrees to Acquire The Trade, Leading Chronicler of Buy-side Electronic Trading Space

Application — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:25:17 GMT

LONDON AND NEW YORK, June 25, 2009 – Asset International, Inc. (“AI”) has agreed to acquire The Trade Ltd, a London-based firm that directly and through major events provides institutional investors with news and other specialty content focused on buy-side electronic trading.

Sovereign Wealth Fund Activity Does Not Denote Recovery

Kristopher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:24:29 GMT

We are all looking for signs of economic recovery, for a return to the normality of gently rising equity prices and decreasing job losses. To that end, the recent rumblings by sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) – the Qatar Investment Authority’s

When ‘Best Practices’ Fail

Kristopher — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:39:25 GMT

Many financial parties and institutions share the blame for the downfall of global markets, and to pick on just one does a disservice to the immensity of the problem. To this end, the regulatory reforms proposed by the Obama administration

California Dreaming: The Sequel

Application — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:29:33 GMT

We were originally planning to head to Blackhawk this week, but two very exciting transactions that we will announce shortly will keep us in New York City for the next two weeks. While we await the time when we

Global Custodian 20th Anniversary

Mary — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:42:42 GMT

On June 25, 2009, Global Custodian inducted its US-based legends into its Securities Services Hall of Fame, the first event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of Global Custodian magazine in September 1989.

Editorial Quality in a Google Aggregated World

Bob — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:20:58 GMT

Each of us in the media industry continues to review our models for content creation, particularly during this advertising recession. We often look toward the Google (GOOG) model of aggregated content from sources around the globe with envy and

1,000 Words on Blaming Asset Owners

Kristopher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:02:14 GMT

It’s easy to blame solutions are harder to come byAlthough I wouldn’t go as far as contributor Dominic Hobson does in laying a large portion of the blame for the Great Preventable Fiasco (as financial author William Cohan calls it

DeLeveraging into Summer

Application — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:47:51 GMT

At the start of this long Memorial Day weekend, it is clear that with spring we saw some "green shoots" and sensed that we had most likely touched bottom in this deep recession in February or March. Confidence has slowly returned with regards to our financial system and the strongest banks are in the midst of negotiati

Stress Test = Confidence

Application — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:41:11 GMT

Back in mid-February, I wrote in Transparency : "The current financial crisis, which has resulted in the worst recession since World War II, will come to an end when confidence is restored in our global financial institutions. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner learned very quickly last week that the markets want more th

Branding vs. Lead Generation

Application — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:52:46 GMT

As we emerge from the long winter recession, once more the debate is underway about whether marketers should spend any of their budget on branding or focus entirely on lead generation. I, for one, believe that this is not an either/or decision. The best marketers, those who have created growth during this downturn, con

Distressed + Secondary Market = Opportunity

Application — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:46:30 GMT

Before we turn to opportunities, I need to do a mea culpa on my pick of Louisville to go all the way after they trounced Arizona. They unexpectedly ran into the Motown favorite, Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans. Detroit needed some magic and the team from 90 miles away in Lansing answered the call. The idea of Louisv

Springtime for TARP

Application — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:36:03 GMT

The last week of winter was not kind to President Obama or Treasury Secretary Geithner. Critics’ voices got louder and insisted that the administration was not up to the task of restoring confidence in our financial markets and institutions. The late-night visit with Jay Leno by the President did not help and there s

EBOs vs LBOs

Application — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:01:05 GMT

On Thursday March 12th in the Wall Street Journal, Peter Lattman wrote, “The LBO is dead. Long live the EBO” (WSJ, “ Lacking Leverage, Firms Embrace EBOs ”). In the article he quoted Scott Nuttall, a partner at KKR speaking at a private equity conference, "Opportunities abound right now. You don't need to use leverag

March Madness

Application — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:09:27 GMT

It is crunch time for the Division I men's college basketball teams. With "Selection Sunday" looming large on March 15th, teams on the bubble need to make their move. Rivals.com has just published its projections for the field of 65. Penn State, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Miami are currently the last four in. Virginia