The Alternative Investment Management Association ("AIMA") published a new educational guide titled "Apples and Apples: How to Better Understand Hedge Fund Performance." The guide proposes five steps toward improving understanding of hedge fund performance: Look at risk-adjusted returns: The guide states that hedge funds consistently outperform U.S. equities (as measured by the S&P 500), global equities (MSCI World) and global bonds (Barclays Global Aggregate ex-USD Index) on a risk-adjusted basis. Look at long-term data: The guide says that short-term data, such as monthly comparisons, can be

The SEC charged a former marketing executive of e-commerce company GSI Commerce ("GSI") with insider trading in advance of eBay's acquisition of GSI. The SEC also charged five traders and entered into a non-prosecution agreement with a trader who provided "extraordinary cooperation" in the investigation. According to the SEC complaint, the CEO of GSI's market solutions division provided family members and friends with nonpublic information about the pending acquisition and encouraged them to trade on it. The SEC also instituted and settled administrative proceedings against two other traders

University of Houston Finance Professor Craig Pirrong published a white paper titled, "The Economics of Commodity Trading Firms," which presents the economic role of the commodities trading sector, how it manages risk and financing, how it is governed, and the factors driving commodity trading firms' investment strategies. The paper concludes that commodity trading firms transform commodities in space, time, and form in order to enhance their value. According to the paper, in moving commodities from low-value uses to high-value ones, commodity trading firms enhance the wealth and welfare of

Any optimism produced by last week's Geneva agreement has dissipated, as hostilities grew and violence flared in eastern Ukraine following a brief Easter truce. Meanwhile, in the midst of the increasing instability in eastern Ukraine, Russia this week renewed military maneuvers across the border, and the country's foreign minister announced that Moscow would be forced to intervene in Ukraine if its "legitimate interests" were attacked. By late Friday, concerns of violence were mounting. Turza Comment: To date, the United States and the European Union have largely limited their response to

Russ Iuculano, executive director of the North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA"), issued a statement of support regarding FINRA's decision finding Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. in violation of FINRA rules when the firm attempted to limit its customers' ability to participate in class-action lawsuits. See : NASAA Statement. Related News : FINRA Board Finds Charles Schwab & Co. Violated Rules by Adding Waiver Provisions in Customer Agreements (April 24, 2014).