7 October 2017

Zero Fund Management Fees?

Maybe at first sight it appears reasonable to wave any fund management fee if the performance does not match the agreed benchmark. And why not ask the fund manager to make a penalty payment as well? But to be serious, any business that agrees to a zero fee would not be viable in the long run. Better to agree fees to be calculated on a (three year?) rolling basis and set the fee in a narrow zone, for example basic 1% and a band of +/- 0.5% to adjust for over/under performance?
Bloomberg

5 October 2017

Bitcoin: What is the Value of Hot Air?

Let self-interested promoters and their acolytes in the Media invest their hard-earned savings in a bit of (hot) air, or better: some digits in a far-away computer that nobody controls. Shares (hopefully) pay dividends, bonds pay interest, land can be rented out, but bitcoins and the like? Nothing but the hope of finding a Greater Fool down the road.
And Bitstamp, a 'digital currency exchange', should it not be banned from calling itself as an exchange by the SEC and fellow regulators? No surprise that its chairman sings the praises of 'crypto' 'currencies' (their are neither crypto nor currencies, you might as well start paying your groceries with some rare shells)
CNBC

4 October 2017

Bitcoin etc - easy to manipulate price, regulators asleep

No mystery, no one can really say how the prices of bitcoin etal are established. Who buys, sells? Can it be manipulated? Is it manipulated? Especially all over Asia the 'new capitalists' are playing with numbers that defy the imagination of people who grew up in established market economies, warts and all. How much does it take to push the prices around? 10 million, 100, 500? No problem for the new Oligarchs! And they know there is a sucker born every minute (second more likely).