Should you hyphenate "fixed income"?

It depends.

There are two schools of thoughts about whether to hyphenate compound adjectives, which is what "fixed income" becomes when you use it as an adjective. It's the "reader-friendly" vs. the "common usage" approach.


Reader-friendly

Let's talk about "fixed income investing." When you combine an adjective and noun and then use them to describe a second noun, you're creating a compound adjective.

You're also making it more difficult for your readers to interpret your text. They're used to thinking of "income" as a noun, so they may struggle for a moment before they realize that "fixed income" serves as an adjective in "fixed income investing." Following this line of thought, it's kinder to your reader to write "fixed-income investing."


Common usage

Opponents of writing "fixed-income investing" say "fixed income" is so commonly used as an adjective that a hyphen is unnecessary.


Your decision

Grammar Girl says that you should always consider whether a hyphen changes your meaning. As she points out:

• A hot-water bottle is a bottle for holding hot water.
• A hot water bottle is a water bottle that is hot.

The Wall Street Journal uses a hyphen when fixed-income is an adjective. What's your decision--fixed-income investing or fixed income investing?

Whichever approach you adopt, be consistent in your usage. That will help your readers know what to expect.

_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.

"Making Money Where Others Fail": Morningstar's knack for good titles

Who wouldn't want to read an article entitled "Making Money Where Others Fail"?

That was the title of a recent message from Morningstar's Fund Spy e-newsletter. I subscribe to Fund Spy partly to study their writing style. You can check out the Fund Spy archive.

_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.

"Pension Plans Say Thank You Subprime for Return to Overfunded "

The subprime crisis has an unexpected silver lining.

The resulting demand for high quality corporate bonds has improved the funding status of corporate pension plans. "The combined pensions of S&P 500 companies swung to a $63 billion surplus in 2007 after five years in the red, according to a May 19 report by Standard & Poor's," says Miles Weiss in "Pension Plans Say Thank You Subprime for Return to Overfunded. "

By the way, this news article suggests a technique you can apply to your investment commentary. Write about an unexpected implication of a widely discussed phenomenon.
_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.

OECD Economic Outlook as a resource for your investment commentary

If you haven't finished writing your second quarter investment commentary, check out the website of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for some useful statistics. The OECD publishes its economic outlook twice a year.

Its June 2008 outlook predicts weak growth and high inflation. Real GDP growth for the total OECD (see page 2) is estimated to run 1.8% in 2008 and 1.7% in 2009. Estimates are broken out for the U.S., Japan, and the Euro area.


The June outlook also discusses:

• How deep is the impact of the recent oil and credit shocks on the productive potential of OECD economies? To what extent can structrual reforms help to soften it?
• How should economic policies respond to the uncertainty created by these shocks?

_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.

"101 Five-Minute Fixes to Incrementally Improve Your Web Site"

"Stress benefits. Ensure that your copy always shows users exactly how your site will benefit them."

That's fix number 4 of "101 Five-Minute Fixes to Incrementally Improve Your Web Site" and it's a good one. If the people who visit your website don't find benefits, rather than just features, they're likely to flee.

But fixing a website that's missing benefits is likely to take more than five minutes. It's often difficult for the website owner to put their business' benefits into words. Getting feedback from outsiders can often help ensure that you're on the right track.

_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.

Take the rancor out of divvying up an estate

You've probably seen family members fight or sulk over the disposition of personal possessions after a loved one passes away. Estate planning and elder law attorney Susan J. Shipley's article below describes a website that may reduce the pain.

Have you used eDivvyup.com? Please comment on your experience.


Web Site Aims to Take the Rancor Out of Dividing Up an Estate

Dividing up family heirlooms after the death of a loved one can be a difficult business. Wills often deal only with financial assets, not personal possessions. The resulting infighting between family members over who gets which personal item can damage relationships for years to come.

Now there is a web site that may help families avoid acrimony and make the process of dividing up possessions in an estate easier. The site, eDivvyup, allows family members (and friends of the deceased) to divide up a relative’s personal estate using an auction platform similar to eBay’s. The estate’s executor gives family members non-monetary points which they can use to bid on estate items that can be listed and pictured on the site. Bids reflect a family member’s desire to own an item. eDivvyup seems particularly well-suited for families that are geographically dispersed, as many are.

The cost of the service is $49 to list 50 items. Additional item listings can be purchased as needed. For more information, go to: www.eDivvyup.com.


_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.

Podcasts from CFA Institute Annual Conference

The CFA Institute's Annual Conference in Vancouver attracted record attendance. Now, you can listen to podcasts of some of the speakers, if you've paid for a Total Access membership in the CFA Institute.

As of May 29, you can listen to:

• Building a Global Equity Portfolio by Lawrence S. Speidell
  
• Prediction Markets: The Collective Knowledge of Market Participants by Justin Wolfers
• From Beta to Exotic Beta to Alpha Behavioral Finance: What Good Is it? by Meir Statman, Arnold S. Wood, and Jason Zweig
• Investment Opportunities in Energy by Henry Groppe
• Investment Strategies to Exploit the Growth of China by Burton Malkiel
• The Neuroeconomics of Surprise: How the Investing Brain Handles the Unexpected by Jason Zweig
• Economic Prospects for the U.S. Economy from a Monetary Policymaker's Perspective by Janet L. Yellen
• Nurturing Innovation in an Asset Management Firm by Blake R. Grossman
  

_________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Investment Writing
Writing that's an investment in your success

Check out my website at http://www.investmentwriting.com/index.htm or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.