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David Darst of
Morgan Stanley is one of the industry's leading experts on asset allocation. In our
interview, he discusses his current allocation recommendations, why he
still holds a considerable portion of assets in cash, and where he sees the
big picture opportunities over the next
several years.
Our article last week on Luck versus
Skill in Active Management drew a number of responses from
readers. Tom Howard, Professor of Finance at the University of Denver and CEO of AthenaInvest, provides data from his own
study. Contrary to the findings of Russ Wermers and his co-authors,
Howard shows that alpha and evidence of
skill are increasing over time. He identifies what he
believes are the methodological problems
in the Wermers study.
The second response to the Wermers study comes from Ron Surz, CEO of PPCA
and a frequent contributor to this publication. Surz points to the difficulty in using purely
statistical measures to differentiate between luck and skill. We
also provide Professor Wermers' response to Surz' contentions.
Our final two articles deal with the mortgage
crisis. Robert Pardes writes about the steps that investors in Private Label Mortgage
securities should take to obtain the best value for their portfolios of
distressed assets. His identifies the activities that are
likely to dominate the news over the near future, as funds scramble to
salvage toxic investments.
An advisor writes in response to our earlier article on the sub-prime
crisis, and addresses questions such as how
much sub-prime debt will ultimately be written-off.
Lastly, we highlight some recent Advisor
Market Commentaries.
Tomorrow you will receive an email from us for a new product from TimeDriver, which is a free tool that automates
the scheduling of client appointments. We encourage you to
look at this offer - we have used it ourselves and we recommend it.
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