Direct or indirect, the hedge fund industry can't deliver
Here’s a piece AR Magazine invited me to write.
Author Archive for: Simon Lack
Entries by Simon Lack
Skating Where the Puck Was
This is the title of a “mini-book” by William Bernstein. I just came across a review of it by Larry Swedroe. I haven’t yet read Mr. Bernstein’s book (I just ordered it this morning) but Swedroe’s review caught my attention. It looks as if a three factor analysis of hedge fund returns has arrived at […]
Discussing Corporate Governance on Canadian TV
Canada’s Business News Network picked up on my recent blog on Agrium (AGU) and the company’s plan to pay Canadian financial advisers who vote their clients’ shares in favor of management’s slate of Board nominees. Here’s a brief spot I did earlier today.
Agrium Shows Morals Are Optional
Who thought that Canadian equity markets operated with shareholder protections that would bring even a developing country’s regulator to shame? Here’s the story: Agrium (AGU), a poorly managed producer and distributor of agricultural products in Calgary, is engaged in a proxy fight with Jana Partners, an activist investor with some very good ideas on how AGU could improve […]
More Debate on Hedge Funds
My thanks to Joshua Rogers, a contributor to Forbes, for wading in to the debate on hedge funds. You can read his post here, and scroll down to see my comment in response.
Debating Hedge Funds on CNBC
Here’s a brief spot I did earlier today.
What Cyprus Means
The EU has come up with a novel way of trampling over depositors’ rights in Cyprus with their proposed “tax” on depositors of Cypriot banks. So far through the Eurozone crisis depositors have been left whole, but the news on Saturday suggests they’ll be unwilling participants in the latest bailout. One might expect senior and subordinated […]
JPMorgan's Senate Testimony
I’m sure many found this riveting today. I worked with Ina Drew for many years and I’m sure like everybody who knows her was amazed at the losses last year. I grew to have enormous respect for Ina’s ability and can only imagine how difficult the past 15 months has been for her.
MLP Investors Pay More Tax
Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are one of the more tax efficient income generating investments around, given that investors can deduct depreciation from their distributions and thereby defer portions of their tax liability until they sell. We’ve been running an MLP strategy for many years, directly invested in a portfolio of partnerships. This is the best […]
Barrons Covers Bed, Bath and Beyond
Nice piece today on BBBY. We’ve liked this stock for a while, strong balance sheet, reasonably priced and exposed to the improving housing market. Barrons probably goes a little overboard in speculating that it’s the kind of name Berkshire (BRK) might choose to acquire, but we think it’s a good investment with plenty of opportunity […]
