This Article is the first to analyze an unexplored but critical change in how modern banks are governed: the rise of lawyers as bank directors. That rise has been precipitous, raising the question of why lawyer-directors now sit on most bank boards. Using novel empirical evidence, we show that...

The Indian financial system has changed considerably since the 1990s. Interest rates have been deregulated and new entrants allowed in the banking and the securities business. The Indian equity market has become world-class. New private banks have emerged that are more customer-oriented than the...

In 2008, AIG found itself on the brink of failure and required the Federal Reserve to step in with billions of dollars of taxpayer money. The causes of AIG's collapse have been described in numerous articles and official reports since then. Albeit some nuances, all analyzes point to AIG's credit...

Risk parity is an asset allocation strategy designed so each asset class contributes equally to overall portfolio risk (as measured by volatility). While risk parity offers potential advantages, its success hinges on key assumptions and a favorable environment for bonds. Like the traditional...

Over the years, Institute research has shown active managers, even the best-performing ones, suffered periods of weak returns relative to benchmarks and their peers. But underperformance, up to three years, had relatively little impact on the best-performing funds' ability to deliver success...

In the United States and in several other wealthy countries, the demographic and financial problems facing retirees are (finally) getting attention as the costs grow so large that they clearly will impact every member of society through tax hikes, cuts in services or both. Long-term solutions at...

During the last two decades of the twentieth century, the investing world saw declining dividend and bond yields, with prices generally moving higher for both equities and bonds over the period. In the early years of this century, investors seemed to belittle the importance of income as a...

At first glance, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may seem like ideal investments. Benefits including low cost, flexibility and tax advantages make them viable choices for many investors and have helped assets in ETFs grow substantially in the past 10 years. While some ETFs could be suitable...

In previous versions of our Value vs. Glamour study we have explored the historical performance of stocks based on their fundamental characteristics and quantified a value premium. Results have shown that over the long term, unpopular “value” stocks, those that are associated with companies...

InvestorLit is a subscription service providing reviews of institutional investment literature. The reviews cover a wide range of investment topics and are published online. Bruce Grantier, founder of InvestorLit, is a member of the Brandes Institute Advisory Board. Members of the InvestorLit...