Wealth preservation: an illusion?
This is the second in a short series of posts on the recent update of the Dimson-Marsh-Staunton long-term return study sponsored by Credit Suisse. Barron’s publishes annual lists of the richest families in the US and around the world. One striking aspect of those lists is the absence in the top 100 of the great […]
The long-term risk of bonds
This is the first in a short series of posts on the recent update of the Dimson-Marsh-Staunton long-term return study sponsored by Credit Suisse. The Dimson-Marsh-Staunton study, first published twelve years ago under the title Triumph of the Optimists, covers a number of important investment issues based on an abundance of statistical information on equities, […]
Is active management easier in less efficient markets?
At a recent client meeting, a consultant stated that they favored active strategies in emerging markets even though, in developed markets, they usually recommended a passive approach. They argued that emerging markets were much less efficient than, say, the US market and that it would therefore be “easier” to add value through active management and […]
Advertising structured products
The graph on the left is, in a way, the poster child for all that is wrong with the structured products industry. Julius Baer are using it in their promotional materials to sell Diskontzertifikate or discount certificates. These products are extremely popular in Germany and Switzerland. Their name suggests that they represent a bargain: the […]
Why another weblog on investment?
Instead of a mission statement Let us get the obvious observation out of the way: of course, any weblog is an indulgence and a bit of an ego trip. Many of them are no more than that. But a weblog also has the potential of being something more. It may provide stimulating food for thought […]
Is Switzerland still a “special case”?
By Rolf on 12 March 2012
Apologies to my non-German speaking readers. The document to which this post refers is in German but its main points are summarized in the post. This first “oldie” post is about a speech that I gave over twenty years ago (in 1989) in Basel to an audience of about 100 Swiss bankers. At the time, […]
Posted in Comments/ramblings, Oldies | Tagged Offshore private banking, Switzerland