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Since their co-founding in 2010 by New Frontier Advisors and the Journal Of Investment Management (JOIM), the annual Harry M. Markowitz Awards continue to recognize the transcendental impact of the work of Nobel Prize winner Markowitz as a financial economist and mathematician — with particular emphasis on theoretical finance and innovation in the practice of asset management.

In our last discussion, we pointed out some of the fundamental flaws of backtesting investment strategies. So, what’s a more viable approach toward evaluating financial strategies? We believe a more statistically rigorous and objective means is through use of simulation tests. Briefly explained, a simulation test is a way of comparing procedures for building portfolios by applying them to a variety of simulated outcomes over time.

When evaluating new investment portfolios, the use of backtesting to justify portfolio construction and trading methods is a common marketing tool among many firms. Backtesting is a traditional way of saying that a proposed investment strategy would have worked in the past, and that it would likely be successful in the future. That assumption, however, is very contentious from several perspectives.

Our latest commentary, “Market Perspectives: 4th Quarter 2012,” is now available online. Featuring Dr. Richard Michaud’s analysis of global market trends, this compact, comprehensive review is a must-read for busy investors who need serious, insightful information delivered in a timely manner. This issue includes not only Dr. Michaud’s examination of market news from the previo ...

For more than two decades, the business landscape for many U.S. companies has evolved into a paradigm characterized by outsourcing product research and innovation, manufacturing services, or both — whether globally or nationwide...