Diamond’s are one of the world’s most precious natural resources. These unique stones are almost as old as the Earth itself, and have become culturally, socially, economically, politically and even scientifically significant. Figures from the World Diamond Council state that each year, around US$13 billion of rough-diamonds are mined (65%…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/12/20/managing-risk-in-fixed-income-markets/ At any given time, almost US$100 trillion is outstanding on the global bond market. This is roughly twice the size of the world’s equity markets combined, amounting to almost…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/11/27/a-look-at-the-dubai-mercantile-exchange-with-christopher-fix/ The world’s future exchanges have always been built around the needs of trade-cycles. The gamut of participants in any commodity not only require clear and standardised pricing, but also need…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/11/08/andrew-lo-on-the-libor-scandal-and-whats-next/ Finance is a world where your input, output, and value-add are the same, money… and after a while in the markets, everything becomes just-a-number. Traders may start their careers excited…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/09/24/the-future-of-the-uk-economy The United Kingdom is a tiny island, with an astonishing economy. This is the nation credited with building the largest empire history has ever known, and which played a…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/08/05/the-sub-prime-lesson/ It’s difficult to downplay the severity of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Between June 2007 and the end of summer in 2008- American’s lost over a quarter of their net-worth. Home…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/06/24/michael-spence-nobel-laureate-on-information-and-momentum/ Analysis of any economic and financial system requires an understanding of two key factors; information and momentum. Understanding the information content of a system means having knowledge relating to…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/06/18/alpha-hunters-investing-in-urban-communities/ In 1800 only 2% of the world population (which was just 970 million in total) was urbanised. By 1950 that figure had grown to 30%, and by 2030 it…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/05/31/the-secrets-of-the-worlds-greatest-traders/ Traders and investors have made (and lost) some of the world’s most significant pools of wealth. It’s no coincidence that many of the wealthiest individuals in the world today…