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The decades of the 1990s and 2000s transformed the investment business. This is the first in an occasional series of postings about that era.

If the goal of an asset management firm is to provide attractive performance that meets the expectations of its clients, then the impediments to that happening should be top of mind for the leaders of an organization.

The typically wide array of stories in this version of the Fortnightly includes great readings on venture capital, company analysis, allocator bureaucracies, emotion in organizational culture, and much more.

Size matters. Big organizations have advantages and disadvantages, as do small ones. What are the general principles for thinking about scale and performance, and what are the exceptions?

Quick, define “passive investing.” Now take a look at the messy way the term is used in today’s investment industry.

This issue covers elusive edges, short-selling, private equity, background checks, option market structure, and other investment topics. (Plus reality tunnels, nepotism, and moral calculations.)

Aswath Damodaran shares his ideas across a variety of platforms, weighing in on controversial investment topics of the day and providing valuation insights. Here are some highlights of a recent conversation, along with his advice to learners.

Every industry has its own ways. To what extent can those in the investment world learn from other kinds of organizations (and the research about them) as a means to continuous improvement?

Mark-to-market rounds, a better bang for the buck, corporate excess, and not one but two Simpsons. Just the typical range to be found in an edition of the Fortnightly.

Many consultants and asset managers try to forecast the attributes of future asset class performance. Asset owners use those estimates to shape their decisions. Here are a few questions to ask about the process.

Certain phrases are used frequently by investment organizations and yet are not clearly defined or put into practice as advertised. Here’s one example.

Asset owners suffer from a lack of information on their holdings in an asset class where they have a lot on the line. Can the principles of “organic finance” provide the framework they need?

There is no way to “get it all” when doing due diligence. There will always be gaps in information. It is important to acknowledge them, and to avoid passing the narrative of others along as your own point of view.

There are thousands of working papers and journal articles regarding investments published every year. How should you use (some of) them? Here are a few examples.

There’s something for everyone in each edition of the Fortnightly. This one offers a good selection of readings, a summary of the recent quiz, an important chart, and a reminder of one business where there’s never a supply-chain issue.