Enterprising Investor

In episode #160, Dean A. Junkans, CFA, discusses the most interesting and most surprising results of a recent survey of 500 individual investors.

In episode #159, Gary P. Brinson, CFA, discusses the impact that the Federal Reserve's prolonged low-rate environment is having on plan sponsors. He argues that we are observing Hayek's fatal conceit where a handful of people in the government imagine they can redesign markets and do better than markets themselves can.

In episode #155, Dr. George Abed, Senior Counsellor and Director for Africa and Middle East at the IIF, discusses the economic and political transition taking place among the Arab countries around the Mediterranean and implications for the wider region.

In episode #157, Professor Avinash D. Persaud followed and traded the currency markets for many years at UBS, J.P. Morgan, and other institutions. He shares the insight he accumulated and discusses the real driving forces in currency markets over periods that matter to investors and corporations. The situation of the Renminbi in the context of his framework is also discussed.

In episode #156, Professor Patrick Chovanec discusses the economic and investment implications involved in rebalancing the Chinese economy. He touches upon the current economic climate in light of the 2008 financial crisis with regards to China's infrastructure, a trend toward urban migration, and general investment trends since the crisis.

In episode #152, John T. Connor discusses how Russia’s markets are more open and free than commonly thought. He also discusses the growth of the investable universe of companies over the past 15 years.

In episode #151, Fraser Howie discusses fundamental issues with China’s banking system. Specifically, he explains China’s continual creation of superficial solutions to problems, which often fail to solve the underlying issues.

In episode #154, Frédéric Romand discusses the role of dark pools and their relative merits and drawbacks in the context of equity market investing. The importance of transparency and information quality is also addressed, along with efforts to achieve more consistent regulation.

In episode #153, Henry T. Azzam shares his views on economic prospects of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region one year after the Arab Spring.

In episode #148, Thomas M. Idzorek, CFA, discusses the problems associated with benchmarking these instruments and outlines a glide path stability score. Although target-date retirement funds are a ubiquitous retirement planning tool, their glide paths vary considerably from one provider to the next. Moreover, the glide paths themselves tend to change over time.