Who do you trust in the world of finance? Not many I imagine after the reputations of many of those in the finance world has been tarnished by failures and the blind eyes turned by those in charge. Readers Digest recently published the 100 most trusted people in America. In scouring this list, I only found 5 people I thought would count in the finance category. These people are in all areas of finance- from Nobel Prize Winners to newspaper columnists:

5. Paul Krugman – Columnist – New York Times

Columnist on the Op-Ed Page and professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University, his professional reputation rests largely on work in international trade and finance. He also received the John Bates Clark medal given to “that economist under forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic knowledge.”

4. Steve Forbes – CEO – Forbes Media

Under his reign, Forbes has become one of the most powerful sources for investment information and the famous rich lists. Leading the way for business decision makers and investors, Mr Forbes is number 4.

3. Warren Buffett – CEO Berkshire Hathaway

The 82 year old billionaire and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is number 3. Maybe because we know he can bail anybody out. If he wanted.

2. Alvin E. Roth – Nobel Prize Winning Economist

Number 2 on the list is the winner of The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2012.

1. Lloyd Shapley – Nobel Prize Winning Economist 

The second half of this Nobel Prize winning team, Lloyd Shapley also won The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2012. Their prize motivation being “for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design”.

What do you think? Would you trust these men? Is there anyone else you can think of that you’d trust in finance? Let us know your thoughts.

Click here to see the full list.

From TheStreetTv: Suzanna de Baca, VP of wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial, offers tips for staying on the right retirement track.

Family Offices have increasingly been seen entering the world of impact investing as part of their portfolio strategy. We have asked ourselves why Family Offices choose to act as pioneers in this field and have come up with the following reasons why impact investing should be seen as compelling asset class:

• A way to generate financial return whilst contributing to society:

Family Offices have always had a reputation for getting involved in philanthropic activities; however these cannot be counted as part of the investment strategy as they generally do not create return. Thus impact investing provides an asset class that allows Family Offices to combine their goal of giving something back to society with the financial objective of making a return.

• An opportunity to  align the various generations within the Family Office:

Generation conflict may be a concern of Family Offices; getting the family together and allowing the older generation to share their experience and the younger generation inspiring them with their passion and energy creates a closer link between the family members, joining forces around areas of common concern, which inevitably will help the family move forward in one direction.

• A chance to outperform other asset classes:

Considering the previous motives for occupying oneself with impact investing some Family Offices in this field have also done so not primarily for philanthropic or linkage reasons, but instead expecting higher financial returns, e.g. as seen in the clean-tech space.

The Deutsches Family Office Forum in Munich will discuss impact investing in greater detail, allowing Family Offices in the DACH region to share their experiences and get advice from their peers.

Nouriel Roubini discusses the outlook for other emerging markets.

To hear Mr Roubini discuss how sequestration will impact US growth, click here.
To hear Mr Roubini on what we can expect from the Eurozone this year, click here.
To hear Mr Roubini discuss the outlook for the MENA region in 2013, click here.
To hear Mr Roubini discuss the outlook for China in 2013, click here.

Innovation and strategy for funds and investors- presentations and video content from our events.

Middle East Investment Summit: the Middle East’s ultimate investor and fund event.

Visit our website for more information on the Middle East Investment Summit.

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The African Development Bank recently launched a 1,068-kilometre high-voltage electricity highway to be built between Kenya and Ethiopia. Investment in infrastructure in Africa is discussed.

May 15 (Bloomberg) — What are the most watched investors buying and selling after paperwork is submitted to the SEC? Dominic Chu reports on hedge fund investments on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Who are the women leading the way in Venture Capital? The number of women breaking Forbes Midas list is going up with risk taking investments that seem to be getting people’s attention and paying off. Stakes in companies like Sinosun Technology and Spotify have made these women leaders of the pack in the world of Venture Capital.

Here’s the top 5 women in Venture Capital, hopefully soon I’ll be writing the top 20 or top 50.

Adele Oliva

Adele has invested in Ascent Healthcare Solutions, Prometheus Laboratories and Esprit Pharma all selling for hundreds of millions.

Jenny Hongwei Lee

Jenny invests in China start ups from Shanghai. She has invested in YY, HiSoft and 21Vianet as well as leading investment with SinoSun Technology which went public last year.

Mary Meeker

Meeker oversees more than $7bn in funds at Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers. She also authors the annual Internet Trends report and continues to hold court in Silicon Valley after two decades.

Rebecca Lynn

Rebecca focuses on early-stage investments in mobile, health 2.0, internet and financial services. She joined Morgenthaler’s Menlo Park office in 2007 and is partner.

Theresia Gouw

Gouw invested in Trulia (real estate search engine), Imperva (business security company) and Glam Media (lifestyle web publisher). Consumer investments include ModCloth (vintage e-tailer), Birchbox (beauty site), HotelTonight (last minute hotel service) and Learnvest (personal finance site for women). A pretty impressive investment portfolio! On top of this, she’s sold many of her investments to huge companies and netted 10x return on AdECN sold to Microsoft in 2007. 

What do you think?

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How can you increase revenue per acre? What “superfood” offers the best mid-term profit opportunities?

David Garner, partner at DGC Asset Management tells us how Blueberries will be best positioned to profit from growth in supply and demand by analysing the fundamentals that underscore the global blueberry market.

Download the report here >

Learn more on:

• Global production (lbs)
• Global production (planted acreage)
• Grower prices
• Consumption and utilisation
• Production forecasts

Download the report here >

The report aims to provide an introduction to the global supply and demand dynamics that drive prices for blueberry growers in the United States of America.

Let us know what you think.

The Agriculture Investment Summit Europe is the leading conference for investors looking to invest in agriculture. The 6th annual conference is a forum for investors, managers and producers to forge solid relationships and make profitable and investment decisions. Click the banner below to find out more.

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Mergers and acquisitions are increasingly common in the business world. An often debated topic, with the messy legal battles and disgruntled ex-employees, it’s well known that they can go very wrong- we’ve previously looked at the most common pitfalls in M&A transactions here. Firmex have provided us with a list of the top quotes surrounding mergers and acquisitions from the top people making the decisions. So here we go…

“Our business is really simple. When you look at a deal and its structure looks like an octopus or spider, just don’t do it.” Timothy Sloan, CFO, Wells Fargo

“I have never cared what something costs; I care what it’s worth.” Ari Emanual, Talent Agent and Co-CEO, William Morris Endeavor (WME)

“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” Andrew Carnegie, Industrialist and Philanthropist

“You don’t want any buyer to feel like he’s been foolish or cheated. So they all get the same price.” Bill Hambrecht, Chairman, WR Hambrecht & Co

“The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.” Frank McKinney Hubbard, Cartoonist, Humorist and Journalist

“Go for a business that any idiot can run – because sooner or later, any idiot is probably going to run it.” Peter Lynch, Businessman and stock investor

“Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from people who take the subway.” Warren Buffet

“The reason we picked 8: It rhymes with ‘great’…. If we could have found something to rhyme with 10, we would have picked 10.” John Stumpf, CEO, Wells Fargo

“Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is. Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world. Love what you do or don’t do it.” Mark Cuban, Businessman, Investor and Philanthropist

“Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.” Donald Trump, Business magnate, television personality and author.  

What do you think? My favourites are from Frank McKinney Hubbard (I wish it literally doubled my money) and Warren Buffet. Let us know your thoughts.

See the original slideshare presentation here.

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Source: Road to Riches: Tracking the Journey of the Global Superwealthy

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