Q and A
Who should read Investor DNA?
- The CIO: simply because the hedge fund industry is the newest and most complex investment that he needs to monitor and understand.
- Portfolio manager: to make sure he or she does not miss any mid to log term range of news that could negatively affect their portfolio.
- Analyst: because CIOs read it, and they all inspire to be CIO eventually.
- Risk managers: to receive the news that matter the most.
- Others: who are involved in the hedge fund industry.
Why should I read the DNA?
The information superhighway has created as glut of information regarding our industry that has lead to an information overload. Let’s see if the following describes your business day:
- Every day, you start by scanning 2-3 daily publications, maybe read 2-3 articles in full.
- Throughout the day, you receive 5-10 emails, from various hedge fund industry rags that summarize “everything you need to know.”
- 10-15% of the news in these emails is duplicates.
- Also throughout the day, you probably take time to check another 5-10 web sites that may include useful news.
- 5-15% of these websites report the same news as the emails and other media sources.
Of course you could always subscribe to each one of these web sites and newsletters, aggregate them for yourself, but imagine the endeavor to be a 2 hr daily exercise.
Is this a blog?
No. Maybe. A blog is defined as “Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.” While we do not include any opinion sin this email, we do categorize the news.
What is the point, if I still have to pay for the other sites subscriptions?
It is believed that most of the content of an article can be extracted from the first 1000 words (we believe in the spirit of “Blink” that the number is actually 200). So the reader can get the gist of the article by reading a free short summary.
Also, by experience paying annual subscription, that may lead to worthy articles is often fruitless because of lack of time to read, especially when those free dailies go directly into the delete box. With the DNA, if one desires to read a “for pay” article, one can subscribe there and then for it (it becomes actually a costless option).
Finally, how often does one fail to remember where they saw an article they really liked? We firmly believe that the ability to quickly find an article that was proven to be appealing, as almost as important as knowing the content of the article.
What are the Advantages of Investor DNA?
- It is believed that cognitively, the brain can only handle 7+ 2 pieces of information in any one time. Investor DNA saves time by aggregating the information in a form, that comes in one email
- Many of the emails that you receive often contain the same information repeated several times. While this may indicate the importance of that specific piece of news. In Investor DNA, these inputs are displayed at the top of the email. Imagine if you didn’t have to read that same piece of news several times!
- It is currently aggregated from free sources, so it is also free. While we cannot guarantee that it will remain so, we hope to eventually implement a business model that is beneficial to all involved parties.
- It is created by professional risk managers, the people whose job it is to worry about the probability and severity of negative outcomes.
Does the DNA compete against the daily papers?
No. Maybe. It is intended to address the prominent news as well as the pieces of news that affect investments in the medium to long term. Investor DNA attempts to get the most comprehensive and well-thought-out sources of explanation, rather than the
How much does Investor DNA cost?
Investor DNA is currently free. In the spirit of the free version of its sources, it is free. While we cannot guarantee that it will remain so, we hope to eventually implement a business model that is beneficial to all involved parties.
As of now, we know that we don’t look kindly upon the paid advertisement model (we hate them on our blackberries). Besides, we have never clicked on any of the advertised links!
Many of the sites will require a one-time free registration and some are paying. Your subscription to Investor DNA does not get you a free subscription to paying sites (e.g., wall street Journal), but a link to the relevant article. If you really care to see the actual article, you will have to pay for them.
Who creates the DNA?
It is created by processes that have been refined, edited, and fine tuned by professional risk managers.
When is Investor DNA published?
It is released at 7:01 am Easter Daylight Time.
What is the genesis of Investor DNA?
Investor DNA is the brainchild of Ken Akoundi, a risk manager in the buy side with 13 years of experience in the field of risk management. In one form or another (e.g., originally christened News u Can Use), it has been produced daily since 1998, with a slightly different scope.
Comments/criticisms/praise?
If you have any comments/criticisms (more of the former and less of the later), please drop us a note at editor@investordna.net.
What publications does Investor DNA cover?
- Albourne village
- Barrons
- Bloomberg
- bfinance
- BBC
- Carbon360
- Capco Institute
- CNN and CNN Money
- Crain’s NY
- Daily Hedge News
- Debka Files
- Dow Jones hedge fund indexes
- Doctor Dictionary
- The Economist and EIU
- efinancialnews
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- euromoney
- Edhec Research
- Finextra
- Financial News
- Forbes
- ft
- GARP
- Getabstracts.com
- Global Pensions
- Google (This search may include many more publications)
- gtnews
- Kurzweilai.net
- Harvard Business Review
- hedge fund-index
- HedgeFund.net
- Hedge Fund Research
- Hedgeweek
- Hedgeworld.com
- HFNdaily
- Institutional Investor
- interactive WSJ
- IPE
- marketwatch
- Mckinsey Quarterly
- WNBC
- New York Sun
- New York Post
- New York Times
- NOAA Bulletins
- Opalesque
- Pension and Investments
- PlanSponsor
- PRMIA
- Reuters
- riskcenter.com
- RiskMetrics Group Research
- Risknet
- Sloan Review
- SmartMoney.com
- Stratfor
- Tsunami Center
- US Geological Survey
- Washington post
- Wharton
- yahoo.com (This search may include many more publications)
Are there any copyright issues?
All the material posted in the daily email is sent to us free. Therefore, according to the opinion of our experts, we are not infringing any copyright laws. Basically, if you wish to read the article, you still have to go to the source article, and be subject to their registration and fees (if any).