Bill Sharpe: "Smart beta makes me sick"
If you rely on "smart beta" strategies to achieve returns that you hope will beat the broad market, then you also need a response to the criticisms posed by Bill Sharpe, the Nobel laureate and Stanford economist. Sharpe uses unassailable logic, in my opinion, to demonstrate why smart-beta strategies must eventually do no better than the market.
Bill Sharpe: "Smart beta makes me sick" by Robert Huebscher
Gundlach: The Bad News for Housing
Residential housing is in trouble, according to Jeffrey Gundlach. It's not heading for a repeat of the 2008 collapse, but it's equally unlikely that housing growth will provide the needed push for a strong U.S. economic recovery.
Gundlach: The Bad News for Housing by Robert Huebscher
Why Annuities HATE Ken Fisher. And you should too.
Before we commend Ken Fisher for his vitriolic antipathy toward variable annuities, there is one little problem we need to recognize. Fisher's claims are at odds with a growing body of empirical research published in peer-reviewed academic and professional journals.
Why Annuities HATE Ken Fisher. And you should too. by John H. Robinson
Kyle Bass: The Looming Crises in Asia
For the last several years, nobody has been more outspokenly bearish on Japan than Kyle Bass. In a recent talk, Bass reiterated his doubts about Japan's chances of averting a debt crisis. What's more, he also said China's economy will fall below expectations.
Kyle Bass: The Looming Crises in Asia by Robert Huebscher
John Hussman: Really Mean Reversion
In his most recent commentary, GMO's Jeremy Grantham said value investors are destined to endure pain in a market bubble, especially in its latter stages, as clients scorn them for missed opportunities. John Hussman is surely one such investor - indeed, Grantham's commentary drew extensively on Hussman's research. In a recent talk, Hussman explained why he, Grantham and other long-term value-driven investors should be worried, even if equity markets perform well in the short run.
John Hussman: Really Mean Reversion by Robert Huebscher
How One Advisor's Website Lands a New Client a Week
Last week an advisor responded to my recent article on building your reputation, The Surprising Number One Driver of New Clients, in which I outlined five strategies for building credibility. In that email and a subsequent conversation, this advisor described how last year his RIA attracted 58 new clients from its website.
How One Advisor's Website Lands a New Client a Week by Dan Richards
Tempest in a Teapot: Michael Lewis' Flash Boys Solves a Problem that is Barely There
Michael Lewis is the finest writer in a generation to turn his attention to the practice of finance, but in Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt - his account of high-frequency trading and of a likeable trader who found a way to beat it - he is a few steps off base.
Tempest in a Teapot: Michael Lewis' Flash Boys Solves a Problem that is Barely There by Laurence B. Siegel