More Financial Press Coverage on Poor Results for Hedge Fund Clients
I thought this was a pretty balanced and investor-oriented piece: http://www.finalternatives.com/node/21480
Author Archive for: Simon Lack
Entries by Simon Lack
Kicking Greece Out Ain't That Easy
Only 25% of Germans think Greece should remain in the Euro or receive further additional EU support, according to a Financial Times/Harris poll. Holding opinions unburdened by the need to implement them is an indulgence afforded voters in all democracies. It feels good to punish the tax-dodging Greeks by kicking them out. But if instead […]
Why Gold Miners Can Outperform the S&P500
Towards the end of last year we felt there was an interesting opportunity to be long equities hedged with a short position in the Euro. Our thinking was that equities were attractively priced as long as a crisis was averted, and most of the bad things we could imagine would either begin in Europe (i.e. […]
The Strange Effect of Negative Interest Rates
Interesting piece from NY Fed on negative interest rates and the possible behavioral changes they would cause. If banks were charged for leaving deposits with the Fed, they would in turn charge customers for holding balances. It could cause all kinds of odd outcomes; naturally individuals would hold much more cash, but for corporations and […]
MANU makes FB Look Cheap
I hadn’t got involved in the recent flotation of Manchester United (MANU), perhaps Britain’s best-known brand of (English) football club. Not just because I’m an Arsenal fan either, but because investments in sports franchises can often be a case of heart ruling head and the Glazers (current owners) were unlikely to be selling cheap. But […]
AIMA's Weak Arguments Draw Unfavorable Scrutiny
A few weeks ago the London-based Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) issued a “comprehensive rebuttal” of my book, The Hedge Fund Mirage. AIMA’s mission is to promote the hedge fund industry, so one might anticipate a breathless endorsement of their paymasters, and in this they did not disappoint. I didn’t bother commenting on their […]
Greece Borrows from Prof. Shiller
A little known element of the Greek bond restructuring of several months back was the granting of warrants whose coupons were linked to Greece’s GDP. Maybe this was inspired by Professor Shiller’s suggestion (most recently in his book, “Finance and the Good Society”) in which he proposed that the U.S. issue “Trills”, securities whose coupons would […]
Barron's Covers MLPs
Barron’s ran a piece on MLPs (Master Limited Partnerships) over the weekend. Regular readers of our research will know that we have long liked the sector and of course run an MLP strategy. Finding sources of investment income while avoiding the tyranny of conventional bonds manipulated by government intervention is what we do, and MLPs fit with that […]
Shocker: Greece Needs More Time!
Greece is seeking a two year extension of its latest austerity program, arguing that the additional time would improve its chances of ultimately bringing its debt down to a sustainable level. This is hardly news. Many observers had already concluded that the latest plan was as unworkable as prior ones. But it does illustrate that […]
Thoughts on the Market August 14, 2012
Volatility (as defined by the VIX) has been trending lower, as the many sources of bad news fail to get any worse and confiscatory interest rates relentlessly push investors into the water. Investors are searching for ways to bet on it rising again – a tricky concept to get right. As investors climb the wall of […]
