SHORT INTERESTS: TIPS, TRENDS, OBSERVATIONS

A bias against winners?

Nick Lopardo, the hard-charging chief executive at Boston’s State Street Global Advisors, has a funny way of looking at sexual discrimination.

In the aftermath of finding his $458-billion division in the media spotlight (InvestmentNews, June 15) over a recently-settled sexual discrimination suit, Mr. Lopardo sent out a memo to all employees. In it, he writes: “The prime reason we are getting targeted is because we are ‘winners’ in the marketplace. And the best actions that we can take to overcome those that taunt us is to do what we do best – keep on winning.”

The two-page memo, dated June 22, laments the “distractions” due to recent press coverage, which Mr. Lopardo characterizes as one-sided. It also emphasizes his lack of tolerance for “any disrespect of staff members by other staff members.”

Reading the market’s palm

For proof that everyone – and we mean everyone – wants a piece of the bull market action, look no further than a press release that landed on the desks of business editors not long ago.

The cryptically worded five-page release, printed on the letterhead of P&D Global Consultancy in Sheffield, England, plugs the services of Bulgarian psychic Maria Ivanova Petrova. Her vast supernatural repertoire, it says, ranges from the ability to forecast interest rates, exchange rates and personal wealth to the ability to pinpoint “the locations of large undiscovered oil fields” and predict the outcome of soccer games. As proof of her prescience, the release offers six line charts (with no plotting points) predicting the direction of various currencies.

However, those who want a one-on-one with the mighty Mme. Petrova shouldn’t expect her to read minds. A consultation “with the phenomenon,” the release says, “is done by advanced booking and specifying of particular hour for work in advance.”

One reason her time is so precious: She also happens to be the creator of a foundation “for the protection of minors” that is accepting donations via wire transfers.

Gather ye rosebuds…

Sell before you get too old.

Buyers prefer to acquire an investment management firm from a seller under age 60 because senior management continuity is critical to the deal’s success, according to a new study highlighted in InvestmentNews sister publication Pensions & Investments.

“The impact of waiting too long can be substantial. Firms start to lose value as their senior managers pass 60 years of age,” says Arthur Gottlieb, principal author of the Downer & Co. LLC survey.

The Boston investment bank gathered responses from senior executives at 76 firms with between $200 million and $1 billion under management that are at least 51% owned by active employees.

About 50 of the firms don’t have a formal succession plan, even though clients are inquiring more often about such arrangements. About 70% of the firms surveyed expect ownership changes in the next five years, 71% are considering selling to the next generation of management, and only 54% are considering a sale to another investment management firm.