People who have no connection at all with the financial world often don’t know the first thing about options and trading. But learning the basics need not be so overwhelming. One can read a basic article on options trading and through that, become pretty familiar with the fundamentals of this subject.
Aug
02
Jul
26
The Art of Mistakes: Lessons from Alan Quasha
So often in the business world, as in many other spheres, people are afraid to make mistakes. In an unusual and thought-provoking article in Forbes.com, Alan Quasha, founder, president and CEO of Quadrant Management, shared his opinion of mistakes. He explained why mistakes are necessary and valuable for any business community.
As Alan Quasha said,
“Better risk management is certainly part of the answer, but the larger part of the answer lies in the constant search for better solutions and continuous improvement that begins with a constructive attitude toward mistakes, which leads to early recognitions, and in turn, to learning, growth and improvement. This virtuous cycle leads to the most important asset a person or organization can have: integrity.
There can actually be a certain magic to mistakes, because if we consider in advance that we are likely to make them, we are then free to face mistakes early and treat them primarily as information we can share with others as we seek to improve the next decision and set a company–or our lives–upon the path to a sound strategy.”
Jul
16
Lord Douro and Board of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA
Sitting on the Board of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA with Alan Quasha is Lord Douro, born Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, Grandee of Spain, Marquess of Douro. He has other regal claims, belonging to the Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch nobilities. As well as his work as Chairman of Richemont Holdings UK Ltd and Kings College London and Director of Pernod Ricard, Compagnie Financiere Richemont AG, Douro has worked for various charitable organizations, including a stint as a patron of British Art at the Tate Gallery and being a member of the Royal College of Art between. He has been widely recognized for his efforts, being awarded an OBE in 1999 for services to British-Spanish business relations.
Jul
09
Private Equity Matters for Alan Quasha
Indeed it does. Private equity matters for anyone involved in asset management as a business. This is part of what Alan Quasha does. As a Partner at Vanterra Capital, keeping abreast of private equity matters is extremely important for Quasha. The company is “a global private equity firm that manages assets for a diverse investor base of ultra high net worth partners and leading institutions.” So with recent news in American about two pieces of legislation “that would have huge impacts on private equity managers,” these businessmen must be in the loop. Basically developments in the Senate which (if implemented) would have a huge impact on these companies and individuals is the financial regulatory reforms that were passed. Should these become law, they will be said to “represent the most sweeping set of changes to the U.S. financial regulatory system since the Great Depression.” All private equity firms should be very aware of this development.
Jul
02
How to Best Invest Extra $$$s
One common problem that one faces when they come in to extra money is how best to invest it. They may go to financial advisers who might suggest investment and/or insurance solutions. But for those who want to make the decisions themselves, they should first ask themselves various questions.
Jun
25
Carret Asset Management
Senior Managing Director of Carret Asset Management, Donald Gimbel, works with Alan Quasha, chairman of the same organization. Gimbel recently discussed investment in Asia (among other topics) with Tom Keene (editor at large Boomberg News) and Ken Prewitt. Given that Gimbel indicated optimism on China’s economy, he was asked how one should go about investing in the country while avoiding “playing the roulette wheel” integral to Shanghai’s index. He responded: “I would avoid that like the plague. I think what you have to look at is what China is short of is infrastructure. It’s short energy and it’s short education. And these are areas that you can make a lot of money in over the next five to ten years. Investing in China like investing any place is a time thing. You need to be patient. You need to look for value. You have to understand business plans and you have to meet management. And I know for the average investor that’s very difficult when you get out of the U.S., but that’s why you – that’s why there are people like us who spend a lifetime doing it.” Carret Asset Management is a privately owned investment manager.
Jun
18
Juggling It All In The Business World
Certainly, running a successful business is a stressful enterprise. One successful businessman, Alan Quasha, shared some tips in Leaders Magazine for reducing stress and staying focused. He explained that he found meditation to be a very useful tool. It allowed him to be at peace with himself, and to learn to juggle many things without getting overwhelmed.
He also started to recognize that making mistakes is a fact of life and that mistakes are actually very important as a learning process. He has learned to recognize that mistakes are inevitable and that, as long as you don’t make the same mistakes repeatedly, they are a necessary part of life and of the business world.
Jun
11
The Board of Directors of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, with Alan Quasha
The Board of Directors of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA certainly takes its job quite seriously. It is responsible for the strategic direction of the Group and it appoints the senior management. They watch over the overall supervision of the business and they establish financial controls. They prepare the Company and the Group’s financial statements and they organize the shareholders’ annual meeting.
The Board of Richemont includes business executives from nine nationalities. Members include approximately a dozen non-executive directors. These directors include Alan Quasha from America, Simon Murray from England, Alain Dominique Perrin from France, Jan Rupert from South Africa and others.
May
28
Alan Quasha and Carret Asset Management
Alan Quasha, co-Chairman of Carret Asset Management, works with a very impressive team at this portfolio management company. One of these individuals Quasha, is Anthony G Orphanos who manages the equity portfolios of high net worth individuals and organizations. Orphanios has quite a lot to boast in this area, having been experienced in the area of investment management for over 35 years.
Anthony Orphanos and Alan Quasha
Unlike Quasha, Orphanos hasn’t been at Carret all that long. He only joined the firm two years ago but brought with him a wealth of experience, from being a Managing Director and portfolio manager as well as Chief Investment Officer and Vice President. Clearly therefore, all the big names at Carret, including Quasha and Orphanos, have impressive business backgrounds.
May
18
Alan Quasha, Chairman and HKN Inc.
It seems like HKN Inc., of which Alan Quasha is chairman, is doing much better financially than it did last year. For the first three months of 2010, the company netted $332,000. This was significantly better than their statistics for last year from January to the end of March, during which they made a net loss of $1.1 million. This has to be great news for Alan Quasha and the entire company.
Developments at HKN Inc. and Alan Quasha
As well as the company’s debt being paid off, its working capital increased. Things are looking way better at HKN Inc. today than they did a year ago. Since the company works with oil and gas exploration, it has to keep an eye on prices in these areas. Interestingly oil prices did actually take more than a 50% increase in the first three months of 2009 to this most recent quarter. As well, natural gas prices increased. But the company was still able to make this very positive fiscal turnaround. Naturally this would make everyone at HKN Inc. very happy, especially the company’s chairman, Alan Quasha.