Update on Hedge Fund-Like Funds - Kiplinger.com

An interesting article on Hedge-like Mutual Funds.

Update on Hedge Fund-Like Funds - Kiplinger.com:

"Mutual funds that employ hedging strategies, such as those that sell stocks short or that buy and sell options, can smooth returns when the market behaves erratically."

Vivendi to Acquire Activision - Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds -- DealBook - New York Times

Vivendi to Acquire Activision - Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds -- DealBook - New York Times:

"The new company plans to repurchase $4 billion worth of its shares for $27.50 each, a move the merger partners said would increase Vivendi’s stake to 68 percent. The purchase price represents a premium of 24 percent over Activision’s closing price on Friday of $22.15 a share."

Newsletters made handsome profits from NovaStar Financial - MarketWatch

I'll post more seriously on this later, but figured you might be interested in looking at it now.

Newsletters made handsome profits from NovaStar Financial - MarketWatch:

"Numerous academic studies have shown that momentum strategies work. For example, you could have made 10% per year, on average, by pursuing a mechanical strategy that did nothing other than buy the 10% of stocks with the best performances over the preceding 12 months, while simultaneously shorting the 10% with the worst performances."

Greatbatch agrees to buy Precimed in $125M deal

An update on yesterday's story

Greatbatch agrees to buy Precimed in $125M deal: "

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 26, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Greatbatch Inc. (NYSE:GB) said late Monday it has agreed to buy Precimed, a privately-held orthopedic instrumentation company for $125 million. The agreement includes Precimed's contract to acquire the operations of another company in the orthopedic industry. Both transactions are expected to close in early 2008. Clarence, N.Y.-based Greatbatch manufactures components of medical devices. Under terms of the agreement, Greatbatch will acquire Precimed's shares and the assets of its pending acquisition for around $125 million in cash, plus an additional cash payment, contingent on 2008 earnings performance, of up to $10 million."

We did buy this today at 19.30. It is down slightly since the purchase. Here is the Chart

The Buffalo News: Business: Buffalo's Business:Greatbatch stakes future on makeover

This is the firm Eric presented in Monday's class

The Buffalo News: Business: Buffalo's Business:Greatbatch stakes future on makeover:

"...the deals mean the company won’t meet its goal of increasing its operating profits to around 20 percent of sales by the end of this year. Those margins have been running around 15 percent in 2007, and analyst Jason Mills of Canaccord Adams says he thinks margins could improve to the upper teens next year. “I understand the frustration and the challenge,” Hook says. “We’re at a little bit of an awkward point.” And that’s what has Greatbatch’s investors nervous."

Speculation on E*Trade Hurts Stock - New York Times

Speculation on E*Trade Hurts Stock - New York Times: "

The company has $29 billion in customer deposits. About half the deposits are over the $100,000 threshold covered by federal deposit insurance, according to Mr. Bhatia. Customers are more likely to withdraw cash not covered by government insurance. This summer, a run on a English mortgage lender, Northern Rock, was prompted by concerns about the company’s ability to finance itself in the short-term debt market. The run was dissipated after public officials assured customers that the government would back their deposits. In a note to customers on its Web site, E*Trade’s president, R. Jarrett Lilien, assured customers that it had enough capital to meet regulatory requirements and could absorb a write-down of as much as $1 billion and “remain well capitalized.”"

"Worst banks crisis" says Deutsche CEO | Reuters.co.uk

"Worst banks crisis" says Deutsche CEO | Reuters.co.uk:

"Deutsche's shares, which had been trading almost 2 percent lower, turned into positive territory after Ackermann predicted no further writedowns beyond the 2.2 billion euros ($3.2 billion) it took in the third quarter."

Protect your shares from $A dazzler - Business - Business - theage.com.au

The day we got done talking about hedging!

Protect your shares from $A dazzler - Business - Business - theage.com.au:

"Well, a rising Australian dollar will affect returns of international share
portfolios that don't have any protection (or hedging) against a fall in the US
dollar, which is occurring right now. (Hedging refers to the process of
protecting investments against, or reducing the risk of, a loss. A common type
of hedging is currency hedging. The value of overseas investments is affected by
rises or falls in the value of the Australian dollar. For example, if the
Australian dollar rises in value, then overseas investments will reduce in
value.)"

Managing World-Wide Risk - WSJ.com

I good article on how firms set up portfolios and manage risks.

Managing World-Wide Risk - WSJ.com:

"Take risks but be tax-conscious -- and hedge your bets. That is the mantra of advisers at RegentAtlantic Capital LLC, a fee-only wealth-management firm that currently favors emerging-markets exposure and alternative investments"

Real time quotes/ LED screen

Check out the Rise Vison web site for the price range/description of the real time quotes: http://www.risevision.com/how_much_does_it_cost.htm.

Student investors exceed beyond buy low, sell high - Features

Student investors exceed beyond buy low, sell high - Features:

"Bridget Hurley, portfolio manager of the class and club, said the group began
in 2002 with $40,000 in donations which has grown into nearly $48,000. In
addition, the group manages $100,000 of the university's endowment. 'For the
university to let us invest their money the way we do ours shows how successful
we've been in the past,' she said. 'We've had annual positive returns.'"

R.I.S.E. Forum VIII - Redefining Investment Strategy Education

R.I.S.E. Forum VIII - Redefining Investment Strategy Education: "R.I.S.E. VIII March 27-29, 2008"

Wanted everyone to know the dates of the RISE conference this year. Mark your calendars. We should try to reserve a school van now. (Hint hint!)

Industry Analysis

A look at Porter's five forces from Purdue

"Michael Porter has identified five forces that are widely used to
assess the structure of any industry. Porter’s five forces are the:
• Bargaining power of suppliers,
• Bargaining power of buyers,
• Threat of new entrants,
• Threat of substitutes, and
• Rivalry among competitors.

Together, the strength of the five forces determines the profit potential in an industry by influencing the prices, costs, and required investments of businesses—the elements of return on investment"

Also a quick summary of how to do industry analysis from Philadelphia University:

"In order to assess the current strategy of a company, and its appropriateness and potential for success, you must understand the dynamics of the industry in which the company competes. While we often take for granted that this is easy to do, it takes a great deal of thought and analysis. In Michael Porter’s words, “the essence of formulating competitive strategy is relating a company to its environment.” (Porter 3) Obviously, this means that you must thoroughly understand the company and its industry, as well as the outside environmental forces that affect the industry, in order to be successful in this pursuit."

Chris R will also be providing us more on this topic.

St. Bonaventure University - Student Online Storage

St. Bonaventure University - Student Online Storage


This is where the bylaws are now posted.

A New Blog

This Blog will be for Students in Money Management at St. Bonaventure University. We will use it to keep up to date on changes in our portfolio as well as to communicate with various stakeholders (donors, investors, as well as each other).

The students in the class will be writing the material.