Emerging markets?

Filed Under (Hedge Funds) by Admin on 03-02-2010

Emerging market for alpha? Good hedge funds had a great decade as usual and many emerging markets also did well. Ten years ago most investors avoided developing countries and loved developed because of the Asia crisis, Russia default and 1990s bubble. When will the crowd learn to buy the unpopular and short sell the trendy? Not yet judging by the money swarming into long only emerging market debt and equity funds. Like developed markets, emerging countries offer alpha capture opportunities from long/short security selection, arbitrage and timing NOT buy and hold beta.

Lost decade? I ended up with an +18.59% CAGR after fees for the 2000s. Not bad considering the high manager diversification and low market risk. I choose alpha vendors for most strategies but manage some special situations myself if I have an edge. I use macro black boxes and micro risk metrics that seem to have predictive value. Emerging markets alpha is a favorite strategy. One year ago AND ten years ago many experts said avoid “risky” emerging markets and “dangerous” hedge funds! Financial science is not rocket science; it’s more complicated than that. I focus on robust models and geographic FACTS not economic THEORIES. I just strive to be long only of alpha.

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TurboTax - Quicken Bundle - $25 OFF Special Discount Coupon Deal

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 02-02-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Quicken & Turbo Tax Bundle - Upto $50 OFF Discount Coupons Feb 01, 2010: TurboTax and Quicken (Intuit Inc.) have tied up together to offer some great combo deals. Now we can track our income and spending in one place and enjoy a faster tax prep in one go.

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ETFs and emerging markets?

Filed Under (Hedge Funds) by Admin on 01-02-2010

Emerging market for alpha? Good hedge funds had a great decade as usual and many emerging markets also did well. Ten years ago most investors avoided developing countries and loved developed because of the 1990s bubble, the Asia crisis and Russia default. When will the crowd learn to buy the unpopular and short sell the trendy? Not yet judging by all the new institutional RFPs for long only emerging market mandates and the retail money swarming into similar mutual funds. Even more so than developed markets, emerging markets offer alpha opportunities from long/short security selection, timing and hedging NOT buy and hold beta.

Lost decade? I ended up with an +18.59% CAGR after fees for the 2000s. Some did better but not bad considering the high level of diversification and limited risk. I select alpha vendors for most strategies but manage some special situations myself if I have an analytical advantage. I use macro black boxes and micro risk metrics that seem to have predictive value. Emerging markets alpha has been a favorite strategy. One year ago AND ten years ago many experts said to avoid “risky” emerging markets and “dangerous” hedge funds! Financial science is not rocket science; it’s more complicated than that. I focus on robust mathematical models and geographic FACTS not economic THEORIES. I always strive to be long only of alpha.

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Top Traffic Generators for FIRE Finance - Dec 2009

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 30-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Top Traffic Referrers29th Jan, 2010: December was a fun month since it brought in the mood of holidays filled with the spirit of sharing. It is always exciting to choose gifts for our loved ones. The beauty of pure joy that is shared with our near and dear ones is unparalleled. We hope you had a fabulous time too.

We are really thankful to our readers who visited us and the pf community who sent traffic our way in spite of the holidays. Here are our top ten traffic referrers for the month of December:
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Hope for Haiti Now - Wyclef Jean’s Global Telethon Fundraiser on Amazon

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 28-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

George Clooney, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Wyclef Jean host MTV’s “Hope for Haiti Now” the commercial-free global telethon with performances by Wyclef, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, and many others is now available on Amazon - Video on Demand for $2.99. All proceeds go to charity.

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TaxCut 2009 - Upto 47% OFF Discount Coupons

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 27-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jan 27, 2010: Here are some fine discount coupons from TaxCut which offers upto 47% savings in tax software for filing taxes with TaxCut. Amazon.com is promoting additional savings on both boxed and downloadable versions of most popular tax products from H&R Block At Home (formerly Taxcut). This will help everyone do their taxes this year for less.

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A Simple Budget That Works?

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 26-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Brown Bag LunchJan 25, 2010: We usually brown bag our lunches to save money and force ourselves to stick to a healthy diet. So far it has worked well. Not only that, it has inspired some of our colleagues to do the same. Over time our camaraderie has led to the formation of a small sized group (of us) who meet during lunch hour to discuss various issues of our lives. Of late, the current challenging economic scenario has guided our conversations towards various aspects of personal finance.

This week we were thinking of new ways to save money. In this light, someone questioned about the effectiveness of budgeting. One of our new colleagues (fresh from grad school), said that her experiences with budgeting had led her to believe that it was ineffective and time consuming.

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Restaurant.com - Special Discount 70% OFF + Receive $50 off a vacation package from Orbitz

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 25-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Restaurant.com - Special DiscountJan 25, 2010: Today we came across a great deal from Restaurant.com. Since we are frugal diners this special discount on their dining gift certificates is a welcome break for us. Hope it helps in saving some dining dollars.
  • Beginning now, Restaurant.com is offering 70% OFF on their dining certificates + Receive $50 off a vacation package from Orbitz!
  • This means that their $25 dining gift certificates that normally sell for $10
    have been reduced to $3 ONLY.
  • Promo Code: Enter FEAST at checkout.
  • Hurry! This offer is valid through Jan 26, 2010.

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Stop Credit Card Payments - What happens after that?

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 21-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

SpendOnLife.com has designed a wonderful graphic poster titled “Don’t Flush Your Credit Down.” It explains what happens to our credit score when we stop our credit card payments. Here is the logic behind the illustration:
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Online Check Deposits with Everbank

Filed Under (Investor News) by Admin on 19-01-2010

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Everbank has introduced online check deposit for its personal banking customers. Now there is no need to wait to deposit a check at an ATM or through the mail when we can conveniently do so 24/7 from our home using a computer and desktop scanner.

Also, online check deposits means quicker access to our funds and additional savings in time and fuel traveling back and forth to the bank or post office for mailing a check. All we need is a computer, a desktop scanner and internet access. This is great news for personal bankers specially for people like us who would like to stay home in bad weather.

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