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To be read in the voice of Paul Harvey. And on the eighth day God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need someone who can flip this [...]

While half the City was at Cheltenham last week losing its shirt on Rooster Booster, colleagues left behind at their desks were doing rather better on the budget. The Square [...]

The article discusses opportunities from the emergence of secretive and exclusive investment funds. Noted is that the fund is not comparable to index fund wherein the bigger the investment is, the more it is complicated in managing portfolios. Highlighted is the use of a fund as suggested by the author which recommends the comparison of performance with a fund made up of 80 percent random stocks and 20 percent Treasury bills.

The article discusses investing in emerging markets. Although strong economic growth in such markets attracts many investors, research indicates there is little connection between growth and returns on stocks. Quantitative strategist Andrew Lapthorne says superior returns can be realized in emerging markets by purchasing high-quality, small-capitalization value stocks.

The article makes the case for holding more cash in one's investment portfolio. The author notes that at one point during 2013 money-management firm GMO had nearly half of its primary portfolio in cash. Noted value investor John Templeton once observed that significant cash holdings make it possible for investors to take advantage of steep stock-price declines.

The article discusses U.S. hedge funds, with information on their record $2.2 trillion in assets in 2013. Topics include the challenges of tracking hedge fund performance due to a lack of transparency and liquidity, the poor average rates of return, and the percentage of profits used to pay hedge fund managers and fees.

The article offers a look at the stock performance of Magellan, Fidelity's flagship equity mutual fund in 2005. Under the management of Bob Stansky, who resigned as the manager of Magellan on October 31, 2005, the mutual fund had posted impressive returns. But he ultimately paid the price for betting too heavily on the growth prospects of U.S. leading companies. The flagship stock of the U.S. have not performed well since 1999 until mid-December 2005. Therefore, Magellan under performed the market so badly.

If you’re a corporate executive and you’re watching this public relations mess unfold, here are three immediate things you should take away from the incident. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]