In the ever-evolving world of finance, where data analysis and informed decision-making are vital, the emergence of artificial intelligence has proven to be a transformative force. One particular facet of AI that is revolutionizing the finance industry is natural language processing, which leverages AI and machine learning algorithms to extract valuable insights from vast volumes of […]
Category: Investing
Venture capital (VC) is a type of investment in which a venture capital firm provides funding to early-stage companies with high growth potential. The goal of venture capital firms is to identify and invest in companies that have the potential to become successful and generate high returns for the investors in the fund. What do […]
Equity research is a vital function within the investment industry that helps investors make informed decisions about buying, holding, or selling stocks. Equity researchers, also known as stock analysts, are professionals who conduct in-depth research and analysis on publicly traded companies to help investors understand the potential risks and returns associated with owning a particular […]
Wealth management is a critical field that helps high net worth individuals and families to achieve their financial goals and maintain their financial assets over the long-term. Wealth managers assist their clients to do this through a combination of strategies involving financial planning, investment management, and risk management. The role of a wealth manager is […]
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Investing in Gold ETFs
Gold remains one of the most recognisable precious metals and a highly sought-after commodity. In many cultures, owning gold is still considered a status symbol of affluence and good fortune. Historically, currencies from the US, and many other countries, could be converted into a certain weight of gold. Gold was the money, and the circulating […]
Asset management as an industry is becoming increasingly important for a variety of reasons: The world is getting wealthier, driven by growth in emerging markets. The growing middle class in China and India means that millions of people are purchasing wealth products, while new millionaires and billionaires are looking for high net worth wealth solutions […]
Retail Wealth Management Retail investors are everyday investors without much buyer power. Generally, retail investors are individual investors with liquid investable assets of less than $1 million – although the allure of a more bespoke investment counsel is not compelling until $5 million. The retail business comes with the highest fees, so at least on […]
Characteristics of Asset Management Firms Most major asset managers are conservative with their use of leverage. There are a couple of reasons for this: Asset managers can see cash flow and earnings fluctuate wildly with markets. For instance, with an AUM of $100 billion and average fees of 1%, the asset manager has $1 billion […]
Asset managers are institutions that ‘manage money’ on behalf of certain beneficiaries. What does this mean exactly? Well, asset managers aim to understand client investment objectives and invest client funds in a variety of financial products and asset classes. These asset classes can include public equities/stocks, fixed income/bonds, money markets, commodities, infrastructure, real estate and […]
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets or “tokens” – akin to the idea of money – specifically designed to take advantage of the architecture of the Internet. Unlike traditional currency they have value not because of the guarantee of a financial institution or government. Instead, they have value for three reasons: their ability to be accurately “confirmed” […]
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The Great Reset?
This past week there has been fear circulating among founders and private investors who hold stock in certain early stage startups that have achieved sky-high valuations. Why the fear? The startups in question are privately held, meaning that the founders and early stage investors own shares in the companies, but shares have not yet been offered for sale […]
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How to Thrive in Hard Times
Invest for the future, reduce your debts, and insure your income TODAY’S economy is vastly different compared with our parents’ generation, and even those of us in ‘stable’ jobs should be prepared for increasingly rapid technological change and a continued downturn. The competitive landscape can change at any time and in ways that you may […]
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Don’t Be Seduced
By sweet sounding lies RISK taking is important. Entrepreneurs are in the business of taking risks in the pursuit of profit and are the engine room of the capitalist market economy. Risk taking makes sense where the likely consequences of action have been well considered and are deemed acceptable. The quote above though states that “we only regret the […]
MODELOFF is a fun, innovative and professional competition for students and young professionals to develop and test their financial modeling skills against their friends, colleagues and top modelers from around the world. With $25,000 cash from S&P Capital IQ for the overall ModelOff Champion and more than $65,000 of prizes in total from Microsoft and […]
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5 Principles for Value Investing
WARREN Buffett is the world’s most successful value investor. Very few people have ever managed to achieve his level of investment success. The interesting thing about that fact is that there are only a few simple principles that you need to know if you want to be a successful value investor. Stick to your Circle […]
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Results: CFA Level 1 Exam 2009
THE CFA Level 1 Exam Results have just been released. Following on from my slightly worried exam-day overview of the 2009 CFA Level 1 Exam, I thought you may be interested to know the result: Pass mark: 70% Pass rate: 46% Result: Pass!! Feeling: very relieved
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Madoff made off with $65 billion
ON 29 June 2009, Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to defauding investors and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. The 71 year-old swindler is due to be released in 2159. Madoff’s $65 billion investment fraud has been referred to as a gigantic Ponzi scheme “dating at least as far back as the 1980s” (The Economist). […]
ONE of the take away lessons from the CFA curriculum is that the conventional method of valuing an investment is to determine the present value of expected future cashflows. One way of doing this would be to use the constant growth dividend discount model, which estimates the value of a stock by assuming that dividends […]
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CFA Level 1 Exam 2009 – post audit
An exam day overview I did the CFA Level 1 Exam yesterday. If you haven’t heard of the CFA Exam before, see the article “CFA Exam – What is it? Why do it? How to prepare.” It is definitely one of the most exhausting tests I have undertaken, a gruelling six hour 240 question multiple […]
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Warren Buffett on hard work
WARREN Buffett‘s 2006 letter to shareholders makes for very interesting reading. One of the sentiments that Buffett expresses in the very first page of his letter is one of gratitude to the managers who have run his companies over the last 42 (now 44) years. Buffett indicates that he and Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s vice chairman, […]
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Understanding financial statements 101
UNDERSTANDING financial statements is very important if you are looking to invest, become a consultant, work as a CEO or in upper management, or want to start and run your own business. Understanding financial statements will allow you to assess a company’s current financial strength, and determine its profitability and creditworthiness. This article provides an […]
What is an asset? THE question, “What is an asset?” seems like an absurdly simple question. But if you understand the answer to that simple question, and act on it, you have started down the path that leads to riches. Few people become rich, so clearly then, few people understand the answer to this question. […]
BACK IN 1998, Warren Buffett gave an inspirational talk to a group of MBA students at the University of Florida, College of Business. In the speech, Buffett gives his perspective on investing, in which he outlines the need to understand the underlying economics of the businesses that you invest in, and the need to stick […]