Blogging Q&A with David Merkel of Aleph Blog

I met investment manager David Merkel when he contacted me about speaking to Baltimore’s CFA Society. I’ve noticed that his Aleph Blog posts frequently get picked up in investment blogs’ roundups, including Tadas Viskanta’s Abnormal Returns. Having met many people who blog in the hope of attracting clients, I was intrigued by David’s statement on […]

A case against writing outlines

I’m not a big fan of outlines. I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation using outlines. Perhaps that’s partly why the process felt like such a struggle. Since then, I’ve shifted from outlining to mind mapping. Here’s what Donald Murray, author of Writing to Deadline: The Author at Work, says about outlines: …I found that formal outlines […]

Top posts on InvestmentWriting.com

Perennially popular posts and top posts from the fourth quarter 2013

Some posts are perennial favorites on my blog. You’ll find a partial list below, based on traffic in the fourth quarter of 2013. Perennial favorites Looking at the list, it seems that most of their traffic comes from Google searches. “Ideal quarterly investment letters” is probably an exception because I share this post often. Poll: […]

"Woman Holding Katana Weapon" by marin

FPA Connect – a secret weapon to improve your writing?

The Financial Planning Association of Colorado inspired this tip, as a result of my speaking there in April 2014. The tip? If you’re a Financial Planning Association member struggling to find plain language to explain a technical term, ask your colleagues on FPA Connect for help. If you’re not an FPA member, tap other organizations […]

How to live-tweet a financial conference

Live-tweeting a financial conference—tweeting as you attend the sessions—can reward you as well as the conference organizers and speakers. Do it right to maximize your benefits. Why live-tweet? Live-tweeting offers both personal and professional benefits. Personally, I find that I listen better when I take notes on a presentation. Live-tweeting is a form of note-taking, […]