The quote in the title is attributed to Albert Einstein and I was reminded of it for two reasons. Firstly, I came across the following exchange last night – Thoreau to Emerson: “Simplify, simplify.” Emerson to Thoreau: “You didn’t need the second “simplify.” Secondly, our current crop of mentors are struggling through my part of…
I have been enjoying the 45th anniversary celebrations of the flight of Apollo 11. My favourite to date has been this piece by The Atlantic, simply because of the quality of the images. To view them in all their magnificence make certain you click the little 1280 px radio button above the first image.
In light of the appalling events of last week it is instructive to look at the markets reaction to such news and to see what can be learnt about the psychology of markets. In analysing what went on in the least two days of the week it is necessary to set aside ones emotions about…
Time to be a little bit geeky – if you don’t know who these people are GIYF. And for those who don’t get the cultural reference here is the somewhat forgettable song by Haddaway
Once upon a time I used to believe that trading was an information management profession but I have slowly begun to change my opinion. Trading has become a noise management profession – noise is everywhere in trading and its influence is becoming more pronounced as time marches on. When I first became interested in markets…
Yeah….no…..maybe….ah…apparently not…. We examine the relation between incentive fees and hedge fund performance. In an industry where information asymmetries (and the consequent risk of agency problems) are severe, the efficacy of such outcomes-based contracting to align investor and manager interests is of fundamental importance to investors. Consistent with theory, we find that the higher a hedge fund’s incentive…
One of the biggest problems people have when they come to trading is the notion of self responsibility, people are so used to abrogating responsibility for their own lives to someone else that they literally do not know how to get into the drivers seat. This poses all sorts of problems because trading as a…
To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of my favourite books and films. I will regularly ensconce myself on the coach when it comes on. There are many reasons to be grateful for “The Mockingbird Next Door,”Marja Mills’s wonderful memoir of Harper Lee and her sister, and being enticed to re-read “To Kill a Mockingbird” is just one of…
There is much talk around the google box that the current move in markets is a sign of an investment bubble. I am not so convinced – the moment markets actually go up people start screaming bubble followed by here comes the crash. Such cries are merely the emotional swings of hormonal market commentators. However,…
AS WITH MANY OF AMERICA’S GREAT FORTUNES, the Stroh family’s story starts with an immigrant: Bernhard Stroh, who arrived in Detroit from Germany in 1850 with $150 and a coveted family recipe for beer. He sold his brews door-to-door in a wheelbarrow. By 1890 his sons, Julius and Bernhard Jr., were shipping beer around the Great…
Interesting set of charts relating to the perceived fall in trading volumes during the recent rally in the US.
James H. Simons likes to play against type. He is a billionaire star of mathematics and private investment who often wins praise for his financial gifts to scientific research and programs to get children hooked on math. But in his Manhattan office, high atop a Fifth Avenue building in the Flatiron district, he’s quick to tell…
