By: CFA Institute Contributor

These are articles written by professionals for investment professionals. They are contributions from external subject matter experts who do not work for CFA Institute, but may be a CFA charterholder as well as a member of a CFA Society. All are experts in their field and strive to deliver useful insights that help investment professionals make better decisions.

All 123 Articles

Private Equity vs venture capital: Opposite investment mindsets

November 16, 2020

Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms have the same goal: maximising returns. Yet PE buyout and VC early-stage funds go about it in very different ways. Many prospective investors fail to appreciate that the two most popular alternative asset classes adopt often directly opposing methods to drive performance. VC’s deliberate diversification In asset [...]
Who’s afraid of Jerome Powell?

October 28, 2020

I see charts of central bank balance sheets everywhere. Maybe it’s because I am so adamant that quantitative easing (QE) isn’t going to create inflation that I notice them so much. But then again, there is a reason these charts pop up time and again. After all, the US Federal Reserve has increased its balance sheet by $2.8 trillion, [...]
Private equity and ESG: moving beyond box-ticking?

October 13, 2020

Ahead of the CFA Institute European Investment Conference (which is open to CFA Institute members and non-members) on 16-17 November 2020 we analyse the private equity industry’s so far patchy engagement with ESG investing. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has become mainstream, with the global pool of exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets under management [...]
US proposal on ESG causes sparks to fly… but it’s the right move

September 29, 2020

A spotlight has been cast on the curious logic underpinning the case for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing by the US Department of Labor’s recent actions. In June, the DOL proposed a new rule that would limit the ability of most employee retirement plans to select investments based on ESG factors. More than 8,700 pieces [...]
Republicans or Democrats: who is better for the economy?

September 22, 2020

We’re in the midst of another US presidential election. And as we do every four years, we’ll hear talk about the presidential cycle and why Republicans, because of their more business-friendly policies, are better for the economy and stock markets than Democrats. But as with so much common knowledge, the evidence for this is much [...]
M&A sprees are addictive… and they cause me to sell, sell, sell

September 15, 2020

Aswath Damodaran has a blunt message for companies considering an acquisition: “Don’t do it.” “I firmly believe that acquisitions are an addiction, that once companies start to grow through acquisitions, they cannot stop,” Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business, told the audience at the CFA Institute Equity Research [...]
Top-performing investment teams: 10 ingredients to their secret sauce

September 8, 2020

What do top investment teams have in common? To answer this question, Focus Consulting Group (FCG) undertook research into the factors shared by high-performing investment teams. We developed a list of factors that contribute to fund performance, including: ‘Do you use quantitative filters?’ (to narrow your universe) and ‘Do you personally invest in your team’s [...]
ESG defies naysayers as ‘sustainable’ investments become mainstream

August 18, 2020

Crises tend to accelerate trends. The upheavals of 2020 – from the global pandemic to the movement for racial justice and the ongoing threat of climate change – have undoubtedly helped propel environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing into the mainstream. ESG-related topics have never been so central to the investment conversation. Retail funds incorporating [...]
No longer superheroes? Twilight of the bonds

August 4, 2020

Superman not only has the best superpowers – he is also handsome and humble. No-one can outmatch him, except perhaps someone who brings the proverbial gun to a knife fight. In this case, that gun is Kryptonite, Superman’s only known weakness. The substance renders his powers useless. In the investment world, fixed-income instruments have their [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly of the cryptocurrency dream

July 28, 2020

Way back in 2014, I debated the merits of bitcoin with cryptocurrency evangelist Andreas Antonopoulos. It was a wonderful, civil and not too disobedient dialogue. I was sceptical, not cynical. Six years later, I remain sceptical but now have a cynical bias. Let me explain what I see as the good, the bad and the [...]

Sport business quiz 2025: Test your knowledge with City AM’s topical teasers

Sport business quiz 2025: Test your knowledge with City AM’s topical teasers

Here are the biggest, best cultural moments of 2025

By: CFA Institute Contributor

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