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More than 90 percent of respondents to a survey on private equity mergers and acquisitions expect financial due diligence to directly influence the terms and conditions of M&A transactions during the next 12 months. This survey report from mergermarket and Houlihan Lokey considers the impact of increased due diligence and examines other factors that are likely to influence M&A deal flow.

The search for investments that are not highly correlated to search for options to more traditional alternatives, such as private equity. Many of these investments can be volatile and highly speculative. This white paper from Appellate Funding explores the funding of legal appeals as a low-risk, high-return alternative.

Private market investing offers financial opportunities but requires consistency and patience. CTC Consulting's guide to private market portfolio management explains the cash-flow characteristics of private market funds, discusses why maintaining a target allocation is an ongoing, long-term process, and demonstrates the importance of committing capital consistently over time to build a well-diversified portfolio.

Just released in the end of May 2010 by the CFA Institute, this is the first attempt by the CFA Institute to set forth thoughts on what should be included and comprises an investment policy statement. I had the opportunity to provide input when meeting with co-author Bob Dannhauser at the CFA Institute as part of the drafting process, and the final product is perhaps the best piece of its kind being distributed on a broad platform. --Charlie

Today's emphases on fiduciary responsibility, risk management and increased transparency require better due diligence when selecting managers. Especially in today's turbulent markets, advisors who spend more time and resources to do due diligence well can find themselves at a distinct competitive advantage. While these tips won't necessarily help you identify the next active management superstar, they can bolster your manager selection and due diligence program.

Most institutional investors plan to increase their allocations to alternative investments over the next three years, increasing their influence over the sector, while the funds' managers and administrators view regulation and governance as the industry's most important challenges during the same period. These are just two of the key findings of a worldwide survey by KPMG International.

Investors should focus on identifying valuation opportunities. We currently see value opportunities in U.S. quality growth stocks, which have the added benefit of providing long-term equity performance combined with insulation from overall market volatility.

We believe the reason many bond investors are maintaining high balances in low-yielding money markets right now is because they've been scared into thinking the value of their investment will decline sharply if interest rates rise. They may well be right. They may be wrong. We do not know with certainty. However, we do know with certainty that approach has been dead wrong over the last 12-18 months and it may continue to be the wrong strategy for another 12-18 months.

When implemented responsibly, a successful foreign exchange hedging strategy can go beyond mitigating foreign exchange risk to actually improving the bottom line of a global business, according to a paper from SVB Capital. The author addresses the impact of currency exchange rates as well as best practices for implementing a hedging strategy.