“Billions are wasted on ineffective philanthropy. Philanthropy is decades behind business in applying rigorous thinking to the use of money.” – Michael Porter One of the most unique aspects of the United States is how charitable we are as a country. There are now over 100,000 private foundations in the U.S.  While the biggest funds…

Every year the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) puts out a study on the investment performance of college endowment funds. It’s a comprehensive report that goes through the asset allocations and performance numbers of funds ranging from a few million dollars to funds with many billions of dollars (in the latest…

There’s a fairly common Internet cycle that occurs these days like clockwork. It works like this. There’s some new piece or news or an event that transpires. People share their positive or negative reaction to said event. Then things really heat up as the backlash to those original opinions kicks into high school gear and…

Hedge funds have come under a lot of criticism in the past few years because of their poor performance, headline risk and high fees. Some of this criticism is warranted — it comes with the territory when you charge premium fees —  but people also tend to forget that hedge funds are not an asset…

In a former life I used to look over hundreds of private equity fund pitches every year for investment opportunities. A few things stood out in the similarities of these funds: Every single one of them claimed to be top quartile — either through past returns or the promise of future returns. 90-95% of funds…

The latest cover story for the The Economist asks if central bankers are Out of Ammo? Anything is possible, especially when there’s talk of negative interest rates in the U.S. some day. But this is a question that has been asked many, many times over the years throughout this recovery: August 18, 2009: Running Low on Ammo…

I’ve always thought that the financial markets acted as something of a real world experiment on human nature. Markets are interactive, involve a wide range of individuals making decisions and provide a scorecard that’s available for people to track in real-time. Watching the 24/7 news coverage of the presidential primaries kick into overdrive makes me…

In The Martian, Mark Watney discusses his travails while making plans while stuck on Mars: They say no plan survives first contact with implementation. I’d have to agree. I’m constantly pushing investors on the virtues of creating a comprehensive investment plan because it’s the most important step in the investment process. Security selection, asset allocation, market…

I live in Michigan. The firm I work for is headquartered in New York City. Twenty years ago it would have been nearly impossible to pull this off. Nowadays, with smartphones and wireless Internet connections, it’s easier than ever to work from anywhere. I know a handful of people who also work remotely or from…

“Most organizations are uncomfortable identifying what they will not do. It is not what you are willing to do, but what you will not do that most clearly defines what you really are.” – Charley Ellis When I first got my start in the investment industry I was consumed with figuring out everything there was…