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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
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
U.S. Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin Team $1.4 Billion Contract to Build GPS III Space System
Comtex
DENVER, May 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ ----The U.S. Air Force today announced that a team led by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has won the competition to build the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) Space System program, known as GPS III.
This program will improve position, navigation, and timing services for the warfighter and civil users worldwide and provide advanced anti-jam capabilities yielding superior system security, accuracy and reliability.
"Lockheed Martin is proud to serve as the U.S. Air Force's partner on this critical national program," said Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "Our low-risk, back-to-basics solution is based on the team's outstanding record of success in developing and evolving navigation satellites and we look forward to building a next-generation system that will deliver enhanced performance for military and civilian users around the globe."
Under the $1.4 billion Development and Production contract awarded today by Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., the team of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, ITT Corporation, and General Dynamics, will produce eight GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected for 2014. The development contract will result in approximately 500 new jobs for Lockheed Martin.
Eight GPS IIIB and 16 GPS IIIC satellites are planned for later increments, with each increment including additional capabilities based on technical maturity. When fully deployed, the GPS III constellation will feature a cross-linked command and control architecture, allowing the entire GPS constellation to be updated simultaneously from a single ground station. Additionally, a new spot beam capability for enhanced military (M-Code) coverage and increased resistance to hostile jamming will be incorporated. These enhancements will contribute to improved accuracy and assured availability for military and civilian users worldwide.
As the program's Space System prime contractor, Lockheed Martin is leveraging its proven record of providing progressively advanced spacecraft for the current GPS constellation. The team designed and built 21 GPS IIR satellites for the Air Force and subsequently modernized eight of those spacecraft, designated GPS IIR-M, to enhance operations and navigation signal performance.
For GPS III, Lockheed Martin's program management and spacecraft development effort will occur at its facilities in Newtown, Pa., with final assembly, integration and test located in Denver. The company's Sunnyvale, Calif., operations will provide various spacecraft components and a launch support team will be based at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Lockheed Martin's flight-proven A2100 bus will serve as the GPS III spacecraft platform.
ITT, Clifton, N.J. will provide the navigation payload, and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Gilbert, Ariz., will provide the Network Communications Element (NCE) which includes the UHF Crosslink and Tracking Telemetry & Command (TT&C) subsystems.
"ITT is proud to be part of cutting-edge technology that will improve position, navigation, and timing services for warfighter and civil users worldwide," said Chris Young, president of ITT Space Systems Division. "ITT payloads have been aboard every GPS spacecraft -- a span stretching more than 30 years -- and we look forward to working on the next-generation of GPS satellites as part of the Lockheed Martin team."
"General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is proud to be a member of Lockheed Martin's strong GPS III industry team," said Dennis Lowrey, vice president of space systems, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. "With our 30-year heritage of providing trusted communication subsystems to the GPS program, we are energized to continue our support to the U.S. Air Force for this next generation of GPS satellites."
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 83,500 people worldwide and reported 2007 revenues of $27.2 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.generaldynamics.com.
ITT Corporation (http://www.itt.com) is a diversified high-technology engineering and manufacturing company dedicated to creating more livable environments, enabling communications and providing protection and safety. The company plays an important role in vital markets including water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. ITT employs approximately 40,000 people serving customers in more than 50 countries. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated $9 billion in 2007 sales.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2007 sales of $41.9 billion.
Media Contacts: Steve Tatum, 408-742-7531; e-mail, Stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com Chip Manor, 408-742-3397; e-mail, Charles.manor@lmco.com
Low- and high-resolution JPEG image files of a GPS III satellite are available at: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/gps
SOURCE Lockheed Martin
http://www.lockheedmartin.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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