WallStreetOasis.com - ...where monkeys come to play

Ex-assistant pleads guilt to stealing from Caxton-Iseman Capital's founder

WallStreetOasis.com — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:16:16 -0400

How often do you think this happens to very rich Wall Street execs and their assistants?

"The former personal assistant of private equity pro Frederick Iseman is pleading guilt to stealing over $45,000 from her ex-boss, who she's currently suing for harassment.

Fatima Monahan was accused of using Iseman's credit card to buy high-end clothing, shoes, food, household items and gift cards from upscale New York department store Bergdorf Goodman.

While Monahan was ordered to repay $45,000 and sentenced to five years of probation, the admission severely undermines the $24 million sexual-harassment lawsuit she filed against Iseman and his firm Caxton-Iseman Capital Inc., now CI Capital Partners LLC, last year."

This Week in Finance - 9/3/08

WallStreetOasis.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:24:01 -0400

Welcome to WallStreetOasis.com's latest This Week in Finance newsletter, where we profile the hottest investment ideas, substantive market data, incisive financial blogging, and the best under-the-radar research Wall Street has to offer.

Investments: Asset Allocation

On both a macro level, as the Bush administration's reliance on foreign debt to finance extravagant spending and tax cuts has helped push the US economy to the tipping point, and a personal level, where individual citizens are now facing personal financial crises from years of a national savings rate of zero, the American culture of debt has proven itself to be amongst the largest reasons for the trouble we currently face. As hope abounds for a reversal in thinking, both politically and economically, policies led by a fiscally responsible government that encourage saving and retirement planning will hopefully become more prevalent. Seeing this phenomenon, coupled with more options available to invest those savings, the various theories of asset allocation as we save toward retirement become more important than ever.

The rule of thumb in terms of asset allocation has been something along the lines of your percentage allocation to stocks should be "120 minus your age." Therefore, a twenty year old person should invest 100% of his savings in stocks, a forty year old 80%, and so on, with the rest split between bonds and other low-risk, income-generating investments such as cash and municipal securities. And this all before even taking into consideration the various options that make up a category as broad as "stocks" (domestic vs. international, growth vs. value, small-cap vs. large-cap). The Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) has a good asset allocation calculator that spells out the suggested asset allocation under conditions you choose and adjust, such as age, current assets, tax-rate, required income, and risk tolerance.

There are also many new theories on asset alloction, many of which involve investments in asset classes that include commodities and various alternative asset classes such as real-estate, hedge funds, and private equity. Though more complex and difficult to access, there is supposed value in these as many (commodities, hedge funds) can be counter-cyclical, and thus provide valuable diversification in an investment portfolio. TheSkilledInvestor.com has a number of good articles that address these issues.

Research of the Week: Read the commentary

One way to find good research is by looking into the firms most closely associated with investing. While nearly all successful investment firms produce various market commentary and security analysis as part of their investment and research process, many also, in fact, publish a good amount of this commentary as a service to both their clients and to potential investors. PIMCO and ING , two large global players, have a large amount of content available on their websites, with myriad articles and commentaries covering a variety of topics. Other firms who operate within a narrower band often publish their monthly or quarterly commentaries as it relates to their investment universe. Pzena Investment Management and Horizon Asset Management are two such firms. In general, it never hurts to search and find out what is publicly available from any investment firm that you respect.

Blog-Wrap: Not what you expected

In terms of headline stories, much of the coverage this year has been focused on rising energy prices, a weak housing sector, and a falling US dollar. However, as of the start of September, the numbers actually tell a different story. Bespoke Investment Group examines how homebuilders and US dollar indexes are actually up on the year, while the energy sector is down.

TWIF Notes: Just for fun

Check out the Hedge Fund Implode-O-Meter for the latest in hedge fund collapses!

Selling high on the Cubs. The supposedly cursed Chicago baseball team could not have picked a better time to have great success on the field for owner (and now seller) Sam Zell.

Best Energy Drink

e36M3 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:27:22 -0400

I'm normally a black coffee drinking, 20 oz's...but I find Full Throttle has quite a kick. What is everyone favorite energy drink to shotgun/chug to get back to work?

Tension between nontarget and target folks within the firm?

lionheart — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:51:03 -0400

Ive noticed that some people, even outside banking, who go/went to prestigious schools often look down upon those who don't. Is this kind of behavior common within the office as well, even after making it through the interviews and getting the job?

I talked to this one kid who was from a non-target school, and he told me that he had a group discussion as part of a BB interview and the other 4 kids that were interviewing with him didn't listen to hi because they (who went to upper-targets) did'nt respect his credentials.

Which Improves First - The Stock Market or the Economy?

WallStreetOasis.com — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:28:44 -0400

David I. Templeton submits: Historical data suggests the equity markets improve before the economy begins to show some economic strength. As a result, can investors afford to sit on the sidelines before they see signs of an expanding economy? In his book, Stocks for the Long Run, Jeremy Siegel, a professor at The Wharton School, notes that:

"...of the 42 recessions from 1802 to the present (2002), 39 of them, or 93 percent, have been preceded (or accompanied) by declines of 8 percent or more in the total stock returns index. Historically, a bottom in the market has led a trough in the business cycle by about five months.

Want to Earn Some Cash?

WallStreetOasis.com — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:50:07 -0400

Hey everyone, Happy Labor Day!

I wanted to reach out to everyone to give you an opportunity to earn some extra cash and help WSO at the same time.

I am looking to fill up the sponsorships to the forums to help fund a lot of web development that is going on in the background to give you improved features, layout and look. The problem is I am pretty busy with school about to start, managing the web development and marketing and I figured the collective user group on WSO probably has many more ideas than my small team.

Anyway, I wanted to offer you the same commission that I offer the few guys that help me out already. If you can identify and place any new sponsors to the forums that don't have sponsors yet I will pay you 50% of the first month sale, 25% of the 2nd month and 10% for months 3 through 12 (assuming the sponsor stays on). If you're interested just drop me an e-mail at Ads@wallstreetoasis.com.

Thanks,
Patrick

Reached a Bottom Yet? Lehman to Cut Up to 1,000 Jobs

WallStreetOasis.com — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:29:42 -0400

Have we finally reached bottom? Bloomberg reported late last week that Lehman expects to cut up to 1,000 jobs or 4% of its work force.

Things have been bad for months, but do you guys think in terms of cuts we've finally reached bottom or is there more pain to come?

Associate

tcp2008 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:31:27 -0400

Private Equity fund is seeking a pre-MBA level Associate to start immediately. Qualifications include:

- 2-4 years of experience at an investment bank, management consulting firm and/or a private equity firm
- Superior academic and performance record
- Strong modeling, valuation and analytical skills
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and written skills and a high level of maturity