Tue, Mar 19, 2024
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
New Managers September 2018

MARKETING CHALLENGE: Diane Harrison: Substance Over Form

 

In the final months of 2018, a mid-term election year here in the U.S., rhetoric is forming and tempers are soaring as candidates try to create narratives that suit their political objectives. It calls to mind the phrase 'form over substance,' where what is said often bears little to no resemblance to what is actually happening. It feels like we never got past the 2016 election, yet here are the midterm seats up for grabs.

I'd like to offer a cautionary message for the investment conversations also heating up in this fall of 2018, and suggest that 'substance over form' is a far better approach to take with investors. When it comes to parting people and their money, they tend to care a whole lot more about what you will do with their investment than what you might say.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS WON'T DISGUISE SUPERFICIALITY

In the accounting world, the concept of 'substance over form' entails the use of judgment on the part of financial statement preparers to ascertain business sense from transactions and events and to present them with the truest value. The label attached to a transaction, such as a loan, a commission, a sale, etc. is not the primary driver of the economic value that such financial statement preparers arrive at in their deliberation. The substance of the outcome or result of such transactions will ultimately determine what their recorded value will be. Thus, 'substance over form' reflects the economic valuation of transactions and events recorded in financial statements rather than their label to depict a fair view of the entity

Relating to investment management, the 'substance over form' approach to winning over investors follows a practical and simple route. If managers want to move investors to their side, best to offer them actual accomplishments and descriptions of investments made and results earned. This can work particularly well with alternative a......................

To view our full article please login

This article was published in Opalesque's New Managers a top-down monthly analysis, news and research publication on the global emerging manager space.
New Managers
New Managers
New Managers

Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. KKR raises $6.4bn for the largest pan-Asia infrastructure fund[more]

    Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The New York-based global investment firm KKR has raised a record $6.4bn for its second Asia-focused infrastructure fund, underlining investors' continued appetite for private markets. According to a media release from the alternative assets manager, the figure top

  2. Bucking the trend, top hedge fund makes plans for a second SPAC[more]

    From Institutional Investor: SPACs aren't dead. At least not to the folks at Cormorant Asset Management. The life sciences firm, whose hedge fund topped its peers in 2023, is confident it will match the success of its first blank-check company. Last week, the life sciences and biopharma speciali

  3. Benefit Street Partners closes fifth fund on $4.7 billion[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Benefit Street Partners has closed its fifth flagship direct lending vehicle, BSP Debt Fund V, with $4.7 billion of investable capital across the strategy. Benefit Street invests primarily in privately originated, floating rate, senior secured loans. The fun

  4. 4 hedge fund themes that are working in 2024[more]

    From The Street: A poor earnings report from Tesla (TSLA) has not hurt the indexes on Thursday. The decline in Tesla stock, which is losing its position in the Magnificent Seven pantheon, is more than offset by strong earnings from IBM (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) . In addition, the much higher-t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: A global macro fund eyes opportunities in bonds[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York for New Managers: Munich-based ThirdYear Capital rebounded in 2023, following a tough year for global macro. The firm's flagship ART Global Macro strategy finished the year up 1