All about investment

By Jamie Murray

We have not seen a financial storm like the present one for decades. For many, the sudden intensity of this financial cold snap, and the likely wintry recession ahead, has been a surprise. In days of yore, winter and snow forced a community to come together so that it would pull through and see off the cold, the wolves and other dangers.

The hedge fund industry is a community. It is rightfully proud of the many benefits that it has brought. It is not just making its clients wealthier. It has helped transform the investment industry to the good. It gives employment to many people and gives back through philanthropy and charitable works. It has given liquidity to some markets and kept them running. It is true that it is described as a Darwinian industry, and that it is about "survival of the fittest" as if hedge fund managers were a group of frontiersmen. However, in winter, even frontiersmen helped each other through the hard times and stood up for their community.

Deep winter has come to the industry. Performance is down sharply for many strategies. Clients are redeeming. A few politicians are calling for the abolition of hedge funds. Regulators are scrutinising the sector. Leverage is harder to access. Parts of the mainstream media demonize the sector, crowing in triumph at the difficulties it faces. The natural response is to hunker down and let the storm pass. However, if individual funds do that, when the blizzard is over and they emerge blinking into the sunlight, they will likely see a very changed financial landscape. You only need to see the recent statements out of Brussels to see where things may be heading. As EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, recently told the EU Parliament "On hedge funds, we have used as our basis that they must be regulated."

The industry has a choice. It can stand up and be counted, and be part of the debate on how the financial landscape should change, or leave it to the politicians and regulators to sort things out. Clearly industry bodies work behind the scenes on hedge funds' behalf, but there is plenty to do in the public eye to change perceptions. This is where I must declare self interest. After twelve years of selling and structuring hedge funds, I have moved into media relations. I am doing it partly because it is a challenge, but mainly because I am passionate about the hedge fund industry, and am frustrated that it does not stand up for itself. It is a media punch bag.

There is plenty that a good media strategy can do to contribute to asset raising, client retention and attracting talented employees. However, the media strategy needed now is one engaging directly with the press and the broadcast media, and through them with the public and politicians. If the case is not made, and parts of the media paint hedge funds as causing market upheaval, public opinion may turn even more negative. Public opinion moulds political thought. Politicians drive policy responses and financial regulation worldwide.

There are other consequences if hedge funds do not engage. Institutional investors may shy away from investment. Pension fund trustees reading " hedge funds are high risk " stories may not invest. Local politicians may lean on local authority pension plans and force sale of hedge fund positions or forbid any exposure to hedge funds. Unions may question why their members' assets are invested in such "risky" investments. Some institutions may stop lending stocks. All this is not just possible in the context of one country, but applies across regions such as Europe, the Middle East and Asia.


The picture is not as bleak as it seems. There is plenty to be positive about if the industry starts to engage with the media. Both the hedge fund industry and the PR industry need to rethink things. For example:-

· Individual hedge funds need to work much harder on communications with the media. They also need to work more closely with industry bodies such as AIMA. AIMA works hard behind the scenes lobbying on the industry's behalf. It also works hard on the industry's behalf as shown by Chairman, Christopher Fawcett's recent defence of the industry in print media, and on BBC's Newsnight.

· PR firms representing hedge fund clients need to be more strategic in how they serve their clients. Being non-reactive, even if that is the main brief, is exacerbating media hostility. If PR agencies are to represent hedge fund clients better, they need to be much more proactive and to push back at a client's knee-jerk " no comment " reaction.

· The PR industry should also take the hedge fund opportunity more seriously and learn more about the industry and how it works. This means having accounts staffed by people who really understand how their clients' investment strategies work, and who are able to communicate this. This requires investment at a time when hedge fund assets are likely to halve from their $1.9 trillion peak. However, as 1998 and the early 1970s showed, the hedge fund industry has gone through periodic retrenchment. These were exciting times as they were when fresh stars of the hedge fund firmament were born. After each retrenchment the industry has come back stronger.

Many hedge funds are launched because their owners want to control their own destiny. Surrendering the media landscape, with the likely consequences, runs against that philosophy. There are grave dangers in ignoring the media. Equally, there are huge benefits to be gained from engaging with the media in an open and coordinated manner. If the hedge fund industry truly is a community, in this financial winter, it needs to come out of the cold and stand together in front of the media.

Jamie Murray is head of Broadgate Alternatives, a specialist division of Broadgate Media focused at developing communications and public relations strategies for hedge funds. He has twelve years experience selling and structuring hedge funds for large industry players. His move into public relations comes from a desire to see the hedge fund industry better represented in the media.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Murray

By: Timothy Rudon

The season of cheer can make a procrastinator out of you as far as taking care of tax planning and finances is concerned.

As January 2008 dawns it will be time to take care of IRS files and run helter skelter to complete paperwork and investments.

So before you get ready to splurge on Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations take care of the year –end financial planning and housekeeping.

1. Run a glance through your accounting files and check if investments and the financial planning for tax have gone smoothly or need tweaking.

2. Think about making changes in the health-care coverage. Find out about open benefit enrollments. It is possible to secure savings of 25% on dependant care and out-of-pocket medical expenses through FSAs or flexible spending accounts. These have two options medical and dependant care. FSA accounts are through pre-tax dollars and this account will cover doctor’s visits, prescriptions, orthodontics, acupuncture, psychotherapy and more. So think about joining the FSA program and you will save USD 420 annually from taxes for contributing USD 1200 in medical/dependant care FSA.

3. Try and minimize tax and instead of spending during the festive season excessively work out ways in which you can minimize tax. Check the employer sponsored retirement fund and see whether you have set aside USD 15,500 (20500 if you are 50 years old and above). Consider increasing your retirement savings and reducing the tax burden. The deadline for work retirement funds is Dec 31, 2007.

4. Check out the company’s 401k roll over fund. Put dollars into the fund instead of paying tax. Weigh the pros and cons of the savings.

5. Rework the tax saving plans. And jot down simple ways of reducing tax. Think about deferring payments by a month. And avoid the alternative minimum tax or AMT.

6. Try not to over pay the IRS. Check the withholdings of Form W-4 . There are websites like the IRS site or paycheckcity.com where you can check. Think of investing in S&P or a high-yield savings scheme.

7. The IRS is helping those who have suffered at the swing of stocks. You can save on taxes owed on investments by offsetting with capital losses on stocks. So check out where you may be eligible for a tax break. So rework your portfolio to your benefit.

8. Sit down and think about saving tax by investing money that you will splurge in the festive season such that you will find relief come March. check out your finances and plan for taxes.

9. Take a few hours off from celebrations to get tax papers in order and do final tweaks to the investments and tax payments.

It pays to be ready for tax season. The World Wide Web is replete with advice and tips but always check out facts with reliable websites before actioning any adjustments. Usher in the New Year as an organized person.

Timothy Rudon is a writer for Online Discussion, the premier website to find discussion forum, online discussion, discuss, forum chat, latest discussion, SEO, domain, chat and more.

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By: David Jose

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This article is written by David Jose on Online Stock Trading Tips. David Jose has been a avert writer on various online trading communities. His work has been published in several places across the web. At present David Jose is contributing towards making MTP a well known and popular online trading community.

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