Vanessa Drucker

• Can Currency Help Diversify Portfolios?

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  August 20, 2009

  In Making Sense of the Dollar, Marc Chandler journeys afield from standard forex territory, into labor market mobility, socialism, manufacturing, technology and productivity. More specifically, the book offers some thoughts for portfolio construction.

• Warning: Quick Decisions May Hurt Performance

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  July 24, 2009

  "Not so fast," at least when it comes to money. David Adler's book, "Snap Judgment" (FT Press, July 2009), takes a look at the psychology of financial decisions.

• Advertise with impact

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  June 1, 2009

  When financial planners advertise, they engage prospective clients in an elaborate mating dance. Customers ultimately expect live interaction, usually through telephones and branch offices. As...

• Face Value

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  March 1, 2009

  here is plenty of blame to go around for the financial meltdown of 2008. Culprits range from dozy regulators to feckless investors to consumers who...

• MARK IT TO MARKET

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  January 1, 2009

  Global equity markets lurch in waves of volatility. Banks are loathe to lend, withholding the lubricant that makes economies function. At the epicenter of the...

• Set realistic expectations

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  November 1, 2008

  Mike Martin of Columbia, Md.-based Financial Advantage recounts how a prospective client came to see him a year ago and said, "If I make 15...

• NOISE

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  October 1, 2008

  In 1965, two astronomers in Crawford Hill, N.J. were monitoring radio emissions from the Milky Way. A low and annoying hum interrupted their work. They...

• Leading the tech revolution

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  October 1, 2008

  Tech-savvy advisors. Boomers want them. Are you one? If not, here's how to catch up. Choosing financial planning software for your practice is a daunting task....

• Soft Landing

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  June 1, 2008

  When the equity averages began to teeter in 2000, Michael Martin turned 30 percent of his portfolios into zero coupon bonds. He hoped to obtain...

• Living with Lockups

  By Vanessa Drucker  |  May 1, 2008

  In January 2008, Citigroup made a tough decision on CSO Partners--a $500 million fund consisting mainly of leveraged loans, which had lost 11 percent in...