HQ Financial Views

HQ Financial Views©

2008 Financial Services Job Forecast© by Kathy Graham is completely accurate to date for the sixth year in a row. Her forecast given in a live presentation on 12/7/07 said that 2008 would be:

“a downturn all year as the excesses of too much liquidity and too little actual product delivery are worked off. Business outside of the growth areas will probably be slower no matter what part of the globe you’re located in. However, it doesn’t look like “the sky is falling, the sky is falling”, as some are predicting nor does it look like it will be “the winter of our great discontent”…unless OECD’s downside fat tail emerges and the world’s governments are unable to curtail those results…”

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The Rise of the Humans© by Izzy Nelken. “In the risk management field, we are witness to a reduction in the importance of fully automatic value at risk (VaR) systems…” begins the conclusions of world renowned quantitative expert Dr. Izzy Nelken in his article “The Rise of the Humans”. Using hedge funds as an example, he explores how mathematical models and VaR have resulted in the trend to begin valuing human perceptions.

“It is our belief that there may have been a backlash against purely quantitative long short strategies. Investors now are interested in having a human trader in the loop. They will refuse to invest in strategies that are purely mechanical.”

At the end of Dr. Nelken’s article, Kathy Graham from HQ Search, Inc. explains how this trend is changing the skills that are required of quantitative finance professionals and, then, describes how to gain these new competencies if they aren’t in your current tool kit.

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Putting China’s Growth in Perspective© by Daniel Drake.

“It is an oft-repeated statement that China’s economy will surpass the U.S.’s in the next 20 to 30 years…Thus, the Chinese economy will eclipse the U.S. in 2028…Assuming that the growth rates of all nations remain unchanged, China will then economically rule the world. The problem is that this conclusion is not based on sound reasoning; rather, it is rife with logical and factual errors.”

Thus, Dan Drake begins this wonderful article that not only perhaps changes one’s view of China but also provides some interesting reflections for HQ Search’s Kathy Graham to comment on the 2 guidelines that investors, analysts, bankers, corporate finance, and financiers in general can use to make their long-run thinking result in the most profitable career for themselves.

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Never Lose Your Sense of Humor© by Kathy Graham is a cute guide to financial conversations and the eternal life of the Internet.