New solutions

This month, we celebrate the contribution of women to our industry, asking whether the female viewpoint brings new solutions to old problems (p. 23). New solutions to old problems is also the theme of the Inside View, in which SunGard’s John Doran demonstrates the benefits of visualising tail behaviour, skew and kurtosis in a VaR report (p. 28). In the era of Dodd-Frank, applying this theme to risk management policies can be hugely beneficial, he says. There is less than one selling month left before Christmas and all indications as this magazine went to press were that 2011 could have been far worse given regulatory and market pressures. While there was much geographical variation and many markets are likely to end flat or down, the US has posted some sterling monthly sales figures, especially earlier in the year, and retail tranche sales looked like ending the year between 4% and 5% up as this magazine went to press. However, Morrison & Foerster partner Anna Pinedo (p. 18) warns that regulators are failing to understand the differences between product and between investors. There is considerable risk of ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’, she says, as she advises distributors on point of sale. Elsewhere, we offer our usual round up of the best of the news, product focuses, pricing updates and market reviews. We will be back next month with our final issue of the year. In the meantime, all the best to our readers, wherever you are.