E*Trade's Online Advisor Hopes to Lure DIY Investors [View article]
Thanks for the comment, Henry. I tend to agree with you. These tools are still in their infancy, especially consumer-facing ones and the trick is integration. The first discount house -- by the way, they should now be seen as investment platforms -- to get providing professional-grade advice through automation should reap a lot of assets. It'll be interesting.
E*Trade's Online Advisor Hopes to Lure DIY Investors [View article]
Hi Geoff, Thanks for the nice feedback. This was by no means an exhaustive piece on the space. Rather, I saw it as a product review which I tried to put into context.
Clearly, FinancialEngines and your work are much more rigorous in this space. Online Advisor is a tool that fits well into E*Trades larger platform. E*Trade has approached this exactly this product as a service they've layered on top of a trading platform. FinancialEngines -- at its heart -- is providing portfolio guidance.
MarketRiders: Portfolio-Building and Asset Allocation Via ETFs [View article]
It's interesting -- contrary to what the article says, I went to the website and checked. They do offer this system via a registered investment advisor with Schwab clearing.
Sounds interesting but their marketing is a little disingenuous. Most active managers don't beat indexes. Fine. But they're creating system that actively trades ETFs. Why can they do actively trade while others can't? Where is the backtesting info?
I think Jeff's point wasn't exactly addressing the role of a news medium. His point was that newspapers, just one product of a news medium, should look at themselves as a platform if they want to stay in business. The role of information, or to inform, must come from another direction.
I like Felix's argument. It's kind of like the "music business is good but the CD business reeks" discussion. Since Salmon compares online subs to paying for newsletters, it would be interesting to see some statistics on the investment newsletter industry and how subs are holding up. Investment content is a bit different than news because the consumer is paying up in effort to actually make money. Just curious.
I don't know if removing the register step is the right answer. The FT has a right to make money as well. Clearly Blackstone thought it was worth the few pesos it cost -- they should have just bought more seats. Micropayments would help - but maybe we just need to feel a level of desert for financial content sites like we've turned the corner on in the music industry.
From ETFConnect as well (www.etfconnect.com/sel...): "The Fund seeks to track changes in the level of the Deutsche Bank G10 Currency Future Harvest Index. The Index is designed to reflect the return from investing on a 2 is to1 leveraged basis in long currency futures positions for certain currencies associated with relatively high yielding interest rates."
I just finished this book as well. I have to agree about the shorthand, shoot-from-the-hip writing style. But I think reading some of this and internalizing it can make us better investors if we study our flaws.
For example, there was an experiment in Ariely's book that had to to with optimization and choices. College students were given a computer game with the goal to maximize earnings. These students earned real money for every click they made inside virtual rooms. Some clicks in some rooms were worth more than in other rooms.
Under normal circumstances, students would try each room, decide which generated the best return, and stick with it for the life of the game.
But when Ariely tested the game and started to diminish the doors leading to the other rooms with each subsequent click, users behave totally nuts. Even if Ariely told them which room had the best yield, the students chose poorly when faced with fleeting opportunities.
I think the next leg of this research has to get beyond just the cute experiments and find a way to profit (or limit our mistakes) from this predictable irrationality.
High Oil Prices Dampen Dollar Sentiment - and BBQ Parties [View article]
interesting about the eurozone prospects. something few are talking about is the fact that of all things, the Israeli shekel is one of the world's strongest currencies right now. To combat record high oil prices, Israel is focused on green/clean tech.
E*Trade's Online Advisor Hopes to Lure DIY Investors [View article]
E*Trade's Online Advisor Hopes to Lure DIY Investors [View article]
Thanks for the nice feedback. This was by no means an exhaustive piece on the space. Rather, I saw it as a product review which I tried to put into context.
Clearly, FinancialEngines and your work are much more rigorous in this space. Online Advisor is a tool that fits well into E*Trades larger platform. E*Trade has approached this exactly this product as a service they've layered on top of a trading platform. FinancialEngines -- at its heart -- is providing portfolio guidance.
Year to date, 11,600 registered brokers have left the industry in the U.S. That figure could reach 35,000 by year-end. [View news story]
MarketRiders: Portfolio-Building and Asset Allocation Via ETFs [View article]
Sounds interesting but their marketing is a little disingenuous. Most active managers don't beat indexes. Fine. But they're creating system that actively trades ETFs. Why can they do actively trade while others can't? Where is the backtesting info?
Dunno.
GeoCities = MySpace = Newspapers? [View article]
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DBV: Unlevered Carry Trade ETF for the Masses [View article]
www.invescopowershares...
From ETFConnect as well (www.etfconnect.com/sel...):
"The Fund seeks to track changes in the level of the Deutsche Bank G10 Currency Future Harvest Index. The Index is designed to reflect the return from investing on a 2 is to1 leveraged basis in long currency futures positions for certain currencies associated with relatively high yielding interest rates."
Imclone Systems: No Shame, No Gain [View article]
Dan Ariely: Predictably Irritating [View article]
For example, there was an experiment in Ariely's book that had to to with optimization and choices. College students were given a computer game with the goal to maximize earnings. These students earned real money for every click they made inside virtual rooms. Some clicks in some rooms were worth more than in other rooms.
Under normal circumstances, students would try each room, decide which generated the best return, and stick with it for the life of the game.
But when Ariely tested the game and started to diminish the doors leading to the other rooms with each subsequent click, users behave totally nuts. Even if Ariely told them which room had the best yield, the students chose poorly when faced with fleeting opportunities.
I think the next leg of this research has to get beyond just the cute experiments and find a way to profit (or limit our mistakes) from this predictable irrationality.
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High Oil Prices Dampen Dollar Sentiment - and BBQ Parties [View article]