It has been my pleasure to work with William G. Ferrell, CIO of Ferrell Capital Management to produce a new online course "From Asset Allocation to Risk Allocation".  This course provides valuable insights into a new paradigm for managing investments - based on dynamically monitoring statistics related to Risk, rather than simply creating a diversified portfolio and hoping for the best.  Bill uses the analogy that this is like using Doppler Radar rather than the Farmer's Almanac to predict the w

If you haven’t yet heard, Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, has been hacked. What does this mean for you? It means that your Social Security number, and possibly even your driver’s license information, could be in the hands of hackers. Some are already calling this the worst breach of data in history.

How Did This Happen?

On September 7^th, Equifax announced that a security breach occurred that could impact as many as 143 million people. Though this isn’t the larg

When you are buying a house there are taxes that you need to pay when you get the possession of the house. But there are ways where you can save on these taxes. One of the ways you can save these taxes is when you invest in an under construction house. Under the section 80C of the Indian income tax code, we do not have to pay taxes for a property when it is under construction.

Here are a few conditions where the tax deductions are not applicable:

1. If you have any property that is under construction

Watch the Module 1 of our brand new course Mastering Credit Ratings: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming an expert (in 5 hours) which is available for a complimentary preview.

In this module we discuss the classification of rating systems, the architecture of internal rating systems including operating design and uses of internal risk grades.

To study the Module 1 of the course, just scroll down to the Curriculum section and click on the Preview button next to the Module 1 via the link below.

Mast

You know that old saying,“If something’s worth doing it’s worth doing well”? Why don’t we apply the same sage advice in business? While being world’s best would be fantastic, I am not talking about that. Just doing stuff well is all I am asking.

My Blog last week gave you the stat that 74% of respondents to a Knowledge@Wharton survey believed that business process and decision-making complexity have inhibited their business’ ability to meet goals. And you know what one of the worst sources of com

I have frequently talked about resilience as being one of the benefits of a great strategy and sound risk management. For example, here is a paper I wrote about selling resilience. When I mention resilience to a large organisation I start with this question:

“What makes a small business resilient?”

And the answer is “its agility”. The ability to move faster than the giant sloths with stellar balance sheets.

These days in the new world of industry disrupters, I have no problem giving my audience a r

CYBERSECURITY: A QUICK SUMMARY OF RECENT TRENDS & DEVELOPMENTS THAT BUSINESSES AND LAW FIRMS SHOULD KNOW

In less than 10 months, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the most important change in data privacy in 20 years, will take effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR is a regulation by which the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission intend to strengthen and standardize personal data protection.

The new regulation will replace the current data protection directive of 1995, and is truly democratizing data privacy. Its objectives are to give European c

Recently I read Essence of Decision – Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis by Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow. I won’t tell a fib and say it is an easy read. Bits of it are. The sections recalling the historical facts and some of the conjecture about the decisions being made by the historical figures were most enjoyable. The theory of decision making was a hard slog.

The book did two favours for me. First it reminded me why I developed the MCI Decision Model and went on to write my first book DE

No matter how cautious a business organisation runs, mishaps and accidents like fire happen. Due to its unpredictable nature, even places confirming to fire safety standards sometimes face heavy destructions in terms of loss of property and life. Fire insurance, therefore, becomes essential for your business. Below is the , as stated by the Economics Times:

Standard Fire & Special Peril Policy: As quoted by the Economics Times, “Fire and special perils policy is an insurance contract that safegua

The blows keep on coming for Wells Fargo. Within a year of their cross-selling scandal, two more scandals have risen to the top of news headlines.

In part one of this series, I set out to make good on a prediction I presented to business journalist L.A. Winokur. I predicted that after the dust settled for the original cross-selling scandal, Wells Fargo would remain vulnerable in other areas of its operations, lest they address the gaps in their risk management program.

In the time it took me to ex

Recently I was staying at a hotel for business on the mid-north coast of NSW. At breakfast, I noticed a group of women golfers sitting near me. They seemed like nice people.

The power of the hotel went out. Heading back to my room I stopped at reception to ask the best way to go. Two of the women were a few paces behind me. One said to the other, just loud enough for me to hear, "Use the stairs you dufus! Must be an accountant."

What the woman didn’t know is that I am an engineer and as an enginee

marcus evans will host the 4^th Edition Leveraged Lending in the Shifting Regulatory Environment Conference on November 29-December 1, 2017 in New York, NY. This interactive meeting will provide you with best strategies to optimize your leveraged lending strategies in the current competitive environment. Take away insights for risk appetite setting, funding and regulatory compliance to increase profitability of leveraged loans.

Walk Away with Practical, Actionable Insights that will allow you to:

• G

Dear Friends,

You may be aware that the Government of India demonetised the highest two denomination bills of INR1000/- and INR500/- on 8th November 2016. Whilst, the usage of demonetisation as a tool to fight corruption and money laundering is debatable, the Indian case study, as per a Reserve Bank of India memo released on 11th August 2017 mentions that an estimated INR2.8 to INR 4.3 Trillion flowed incrementally (money kept outside the banking system) into the banking system. Circa INR64=1-USD

In his book, “The Wisdom Chronicles: Competing to Win”, Dr. Ted Marra made the point that the success of virtually all organizations comes down to the relentless focus on a vital few factors. The unfortunate truth is that most senior executives are clueless about what they are.

Dr. Marra agreed to offer his book 'The Wisdom Chronicles: Competing to Win' for complimentary download for members of Global Risk Community (it is a short book) via the following link: https://mediaexplorers.lpages.co/co

In a recent interview I had with business journalist L.A. Winokur regarding the Wells Fargo cross-selling scandal, I made a prediction: “Once the dust of this scandal settles, perhaps in two or three years, Wells Fargo will remain vulnerable in other areas of its operations to risk management failures.”

Low and behold, the only part I didn’t get right was the timeline. In less than a year of paying $185 million in penalties, the largest fine ever levied by the CFPB, the bank finds itself in headl

Last week I wrote about Face-ism and that it takes us less than 200 milliseconds to form a judgement about someone just by viewing their face. A judgement that is likely to be wrong as our facial expressions are formed from how we are feeling at one moment in time.

Risk suffers in the same way. My original consulting career was in risk. In my training programs on persuasion I usually tell the story about consulting to Australian Government agencies in the early 2000s. Often back in those days I w

This article is contributed by William G Ferrell, CIO of Ferrell Capital Management and the author of a new course on Global Risk Academy - "From Asset Allocation To Risk Allocation"

Risk Allocation

Since Harry Markowitz introduced Modern Portfolio Theory in 1952, Asset Allocation has been accepted as the standard for investment portfolio construction.  Based on historical behavior and individual predictions, managers make return and risk forecasts for categories of investments and combine them

“You need a mentor.”

If you’re like most working professionals, this is one of the first pieces of advice you heard around college graduation or upon landing your first job.  (Stressed out at work? Get a mentor. Not sure how to navigate office politics? Get a mentor. Want to know whether going to grad school or switching careers is the right option for you? Get a mentor. Ad nauseum.)

But whether you received this advice from one of your professors, your mom, your neighbor, or a co-worker, finding