XBRL for Investment Professionals
Labels: cfa, investing, presentation, Switzerland, xbrl
Labels: cfa, investing, presentation, Switzerland, xbrl
Let me be explicit from the start: I have a problem with the judgmental connotations of the term speculation. In my view, there is no meaningful distinction between investing and speculating. Investing as well as speculating is about the assumption of risk in return for the uncertain possibility of reward. There is only inappropriate investment or speculation, but not bad speculation per se. Labels: cfa, presentation, xbrl
Labels: accounting, cfa, investing, pensions, Switzerland, USA
Today, the first meeting of the XAC, the XBRL Advisory Council to the IASCF took place in London. It was a very interesting kick-off meeting, indeed! To use an IT metaphor, I like to think of Accounting Standard Setting as constructing the Operating System that the economy works on. A principles based system such as IFRS can rely on a certain degree of fuzziness and the human factor when preparers and auditors apply the standards. But when this fuzziness actually is being translated into code, then a lot of nitty-gritty stuff appears. Labels: accounting, cfa, xbrl
Labels: cfa, Switzerland, xbrl
Labels: cfa, pensions, presentation
Labels: accounting, cfa, presentation
Labels: cfa, Netherlands, pensions, Switzerland, UK, USA
The largest asset that most human beings have, at least when they are young, is their human capital? that is, the present value of their expected future labor income. Human capital interacts with traditional investments, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, through the correlation structure. But human capital interacts in even more interesting and profitable ways with life insurance and annuities because these assets have payoffs linked to the holder?s longevity. The authors of Lifetime Financial Advice present a framework for understanding and managing all of these assets holistically.
On the occasion of the Swiss CFA Society's celebration of the CFA Institute's 60th anniversary, I've been asked to host a panel discussing Education & Innovation in Switzerland. The panel was composed of Prof. Manuel Ammann, Prof. Thorsten Hens and Patrick Odier (right to left). The debate covered topics such as Swiss pragmatism in adopting innovation invented elsewhere, the rôle of intellectual property in financial innovation as well as ways to bridge the gap between academic research and practice. Panelists would like to see increased flexibility in the educational landscape and more interaction between the two quite separate fields.Labels: cfa, presentation, Switzerland
Labels: cfa
Labels: cfa, pensions, presentation, Russia
The Time Is Now to Look at XBRL
As I mentioned in my December letter, I am encouraged by the promise that XBRL ? an interactive data-based language that allows the tagging of financial (and potentially non-financial) information ? holds in enhancing the ability of investors to analyze companies. I believe XBRL can significantly improve the accessibility and accuracy of financial statements and, ultimately, the quality of our global capital markets.
Recently, the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) held a seminar on XBRL at Baruch College. I wish you could have joined me at the seminar where Tom Larsen, CFA, chair of our XBRL working group, delivered an informative presentation (PDF) and I provided an update (PDF) on our involvement in this area.
If you haven't already, it is now time for you to take a good look at this new technology. Fundamental analysts, portfolio managers, credit analysts, quants, risk modelers, and academics should all evaluate how XBRL may change their investment processes. XBRL has developed to a degree where it is worth your while to investigate. We will attempt to deliver this information to your doorstep or desktop, although seeing the live presentations would be most effective.
In addition, in order to accelerate adoption of XBRL by companies, I urge you to ask company management where they stand with XBRL implementation. A little nudge from many of you will pay dividends.
CFA Institute, through its Centre for Financial Market Integrity, has formed an XBRL working group of nine members from diverse investment professional backgrounds, which has been charged with three main tasks: 1) Draft a position paper on the use of XBRL-tagged data in financial reporting from the end-users' perspective; 2) Survey CFA Institute members about the key elements needed to develop and maintain a high-quality XBRL system for delivering information to investors and investment professionals; and 3) Provide detailed implementation feedback to the SEC and to XBRL US Inc., the primary organization for the development of the XBRL taxonomy for financial statements and note disclosures provided for SEC filings.
We will keep you posted of further developments.