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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 41-50 out of 55 results for "Equity Indexed Annuities".

SPIVA Scorecard Year-End 2012

(Mar 2013)

S&P Dow Jones Indices recently released their year-end 2012 report comparing the performance of actively managed mutual funds against their benchmark indices (we covered the year-end 2011 report previously). The S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) Scorecard once again shows that, for the most part, mutual funds tend to underperform their benchmarks:

The year 2012 marked the return of the double digit gains across all the domestic and global equity benchmark indices. The gains passive...

Private Equity Fund Advisers Charged with Misleading Investors about Valuation and Performance

(Mar 2013)

Earlier this week, the SEC charged Oppenheimer Asset Management (OAM) and Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management (OAIM) with misrepresenting the performance of the Oppenheimer Global Resource Private Equity Fund I L.P. (OGR) in their marketing materials. The SEC found that OGR's manager used his own valuation methodology to value the fund's largest investment, Cartesian Investors-A LLC ("Cartesian"), at a significant markup. This inflated valuation led to a ten-fold increase in OGR's...

SEC Examination Priorities 2013

(Feb 2013)

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced their examination priorities for 2013 "to communicate with investors and registrants about areas that are perceived by the staff to have heightened risk, and to support the SEC's mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation."

For those that are unfamiliar, SEC staff conducts examinations of SEC registrants through their regional offices and headquarters

to determine...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - February 22nd, 2013

(Feb 2013)

SEC Charges Fund Manager in Scheme Involving Risky Mortgage-Related Investment
February 20, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22622)
According to the complaint, George Charles Cody Price "raised $18 million for three investment funds through his firm ABS Manager LLC" promising investors that their investments were "secured by government-backed bonds yielding extraordinary double-digit returns as high as 18 percent per year." In reality, Price was allegedly "investing in one the riskiest tranches...

Structured CDs: The Big Picture

(Feb 2013)

This week we have reviewed some of the issues surrounding structured certificates of deposit, giving an introduction, example offering documents (both simple and complex), the basics of FDIC insurance of these products, and a description of some of the tax implications investors should be aware of. We hope we have conveyed our reasons for thinking that structured CDs are complex and risky investments that, like structured products, are rarely suitable for retail investors.

But there is a...

What Does a Simple Structured CD Look Like?

(Feb 2013)

Okay, we've talked a bit about what structured CDs are and why we think they are interesting. But what does a structured CD offering document actually look like? Unfortunately, it isn't possible to find such documents from Bloomberg or the SEC website since structured CDs are not registered securities. However, you can often find offering documents using Google. For example, as a relatively simple equity-linked CD, we're going to take a look at the "Global Opportunity Certificate of Deposit...

Structured Certificates of Deposit Week

(Feb 2013)

Over the past several months, we have noticed more and more bank deposits that resemble structured products. These products go by various names: market-linked certificates of deposit, equity-linked certificates of deposit, contingent interest certificates of deposits, etc. For parsimony, we refer to these types of products as "structured CDs" or simply "SCDs".

We think structured CDs are a very significant development, as they can be designed to provide highly complex exposure, are almost...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review -February 1st, 2013

(Feb 2013)

SEC Charges Five Former Executives of Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas in $300 Million Real Estate Investment Fraud
January 30, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22607)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas' former executives, Fred Davis Clark, Jr., Cristal R. Coleman, David W. Schwarz, Barry J. Graham, and Ricky Lynn Stokes conducted "an offering fraud and Ponzi scheme that raised more than $300 million from nearly 1,400 investors nationwide." Allegedly, from 2004...

What is a CDO, Anyway?

(Jan 2013)

We've talked a lot on this blog about collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), including a post just last week about how they might be regaining popularity. We thought it might be worthwhile to step back and explain just what a CDO is and why it is considered such a risky investment.

Part of the complexity just has to do with terminology. CDOs are a type of asset-backed security; so like a derivative, the value of a CDO is linked to the value of another asset. Typically, CDOs are linked to an...

Persistence Scorecard

(Jan 2013)

Late last month, S&P Dow Jones Indices released their persistence scorecard which tracks the "consistency of top [mutual fund] performers over yearly consecutive periods" using the University of Chicago's CRSP database. This report aims to address the question "does past performance really matter?" by asking whether mutual funds can consistently deliver high returns over several consecutive years.

Their sample includes only actively managed domestic US equity mutual funds -- and only the...

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