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Jenna Lee

Jenna Lee

Jenna Lee

Jenna Lee joined the FOX Business Network as an anchor in September, 2007, coming from Forbes.com, where she served as a news anchor and reporter.

While there, Lee conducted interviews with various leaders in the business community, both on-set and in the field, and covered multiple beats, including investing, the leisure industry, alternative business practices and international news.

Prior to her stint at Forbes.com, Lee worked for NY1, serving as a reporter and a segment producer for Fortune Business Report. While there, she also served as an associate producer for Inside City Hall, a live nightly politics program, and as a writer for their morning newscast.

She is a graduate of the University of California with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Global & International Studies. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Columbia University.

WATCH FOXBusiness.com LIVE with Connell McShane and Jenna Lee Weekdays @ Noon ET. Talk to us at FBNlive@foxbusiness.com


What was your first job?
My first job was working in an apple orchard. My brothers and I were paid based on the number of bags we could fill.

Are you a spender or a saver?
I save for a rainy day but when it rains, I don't mind spending!

What was the one thing you regret buying?
In hindsight, the money I poured into buying parts for the 1963 Chevy Impala I drove in college.

What was your biggest money indulgence?
My biggest indulgence was a round-trip ticket to Nepal, where I went trekking in the mountains for three weeks.

What was the best money advice you received?
Always take your receipt!

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Alpha and Beta

A popular Wendy's commercial in the 80s made famous the question: "Where's the beef?" Good one. And here's an even better one: "Where's the alpha?" You might want to whip this one out the next time you meet with your portfolio manager.

Alpha is the over-and-above-the-expected return. It is the "value added." Therefore, it makes sense that a positive alpha means an investment has outperformed its market-predicted return, while a negative alpha would mean just the opposite. The expected return is calculated by a formula that takes into account the investment's level of unavoidable risk (aka beta).

Ever stepped into an elevator and after the doors close you become aware of an almost-suffocating scent coming from the woman next to you who must have bathed in perfume? Well, as you know, once the doors close you can't escape the smell until the ride is over. This is similar to beta, which is risk that can't be reduced or diversified away. A measure of "systematic" or market related risk, beta is used as a measure relative to a certain index -- such as the S&P 500.

So, for example, let¿s say your portfolio is managed to compete against the S&P 500. If you generate a better return than the index while not taking on added risk (standard deviation of returns) then you get alpha. Low beta means the market-related risk is low and vice versa for high beta.

Another example, let's say a mutual fund or stock has a beta of 1.5 relative to the S& P500 ¿ that means it is 1.5 times as risky. So, over time, if the S&P 500 goes up 1%, your portfolio should be up 1.5% plus (one can hope) some percentage of alpha. If the S&P 500 is down 1%, your portfolio should be down 1.5%.

Alpha and beta are based off of linear regression of a set of data. Warning: this may cause a high school fifth-period flashback, but it will be over before you know it:
The equation for a line is Y = a + bX.

a = alpha (the Y intercept - the added value)
b = Beta (the coefficient you multiply X by)
X = S&P 500 (in this case)
Y = your portfolio