People

 

Peer Analytics was formed in 1999 by investment consultants with proven track records in innovative research.

David Newsom has spent almost three decades working with institutional investors in the area of asset allocation and performance analysis, both as a fund sponsor and as a consultant. From implementing the first surplus insurance trading strategy in 1984, to the development, with Michael Kantor in 1990, of an original dynamic modeling program integrating insurance company assets with liabilities - now known as Dynamic Financial Analysis - he has provided clients with creative approaches to investment problem-solving. David is a graduate of Whittier College with a BA in Mathematics and Economics and holds an MBA in Finance from University of California at Los Angeles.

An enrolled actuary, Dr. Michael Kantor has over 30 years experience developing financial modeling systems. In the early 1980's, he created a unique investment-performance diagnostic algorithm for the investment industry. This original approach to defining the impact of asset mix, market timing and security selection on portfolio return has since been widely used by fund sponsors and investment management organizations. Michael holds a BS degree from the Wharton School of Finance and a Doctorate in Mathematical Statistics from Columbia.

Dr. Sheldon Engler has three decades of experience in financial services, academics and consulting. Sheldon is also president of Engler Economic Research, LLC, a consulting firm that provides global economic and financial market research to businesses and institutional investors. Sheldon was previously head of fixed income research at Charles Schwab Investment Management. Earlier he worked at Bank of America, where he was a global currency strategist and director of Europe, Middle East and Africa research. Sheldon teaches applied economics at the University of San Francisco College of Professional Studies and at the University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management. Sheldon is a member of the California Chamber of Commerce Economic Advisory Council, and served as chair of the council in 2006 and 2007. He is also a member of the National Association for Business Economics, and served two terms as president of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter. Sheldon earned his Doctorate in Economics at the University of Florida.

Ron Surz has held senior positions in the Investment Consulting and Financial Services industry since 1972. Ron served as Senior Vice President, Consulting, and Head of Investment Policy Consulting at AG Becker/SEI, one of the investment industry’s largest and most prestigious consulting firms. Mr. Surz’s original research has been published in numerous professional journals including the Journal of Investing, The Journal of Portfolio Management, The Financial Analysts Journal, The Journal of Performance Measurement, the Handbook of Equity Style Management, and he is co-editor of a book on hedge funds entitled Hedge Funds: Definitive Strategies and Techniques. He is a member of the After-Tax Performance Reporting Standards Sub-committee for the CFA Institute (formerly AIMR) and the Institute’s Investment Performance Council. Ron was awarded an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago , Graduate School of Business in 1974. In 1969 he earned an MS in Applied Mathematics from the University of Illinois , Chicago , and in 1967 he graduated grada cum laude from the University of Illinois , Chicago , with a BS in Applied Mathematics.

Effective benchmarking provides sufficient information to determine when corrective action is necessary.

Indexes are valuable components of the benchmarking process, but by themselves are not sufficient. Simple index comparisons lack the context required to draw meaningful conclusions.

Because indexes provide only a single comparative data point for each time period, it takes decades* to determine with any statistical meaning whether or not an investment manager has positive or negative skill. So by the time you have enough data to reach a conclusion, it's far too late.