Taleb "sue the nobel prize committee"

The author of "Black Swan", Nassim Taleb, says that investors should sue the Nobel Prize committee for legitimizing the work of Markowitz, Miller and Sharpe.  Taleb made his name by arguing that standard portfolio theory understates the likelihood of severe events.  He's clearly got a flair for garnering publicity, but I really think his 15 minutes are up.

I've posted on Talib before.


In other news, Taleb is planning to sue the estate of the Wright Brothers for losses incurred because of airplane crashes.

William Sharpe's IPO

William Sharpe's company "Financial Engines" has gone public. You'll recall that Bill Sharpe is the Nobel prize winning economist who developed the CAPM. Financial Engines is a company that provides asset allocation advice using portfolio optimization tools.

The basic concept of the company is really great. They apply hard core portfolio tools to optimize retirement portfolios of individuals. As they say on their website...

There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all investment strategy. That's why Financial Engines gives you a personalized Retirement Plan designed to fit your situation. We analyze expense ratios, sales loads, asset turnovers, transaction costs, and management styles. To manage risk, we emphasize diversification—a technique that spreads risk over different investment types. We balance all these factors to create a personal investment strategy designed to maximize expected returns at a risk level appropriate for you.

From an academic point of view, it's always great to see what we teach in class being used in the real world.