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Chris Versace

Chris Versace, the "Thematic Investor," is the director of research at Think 20/20, an independent equity research and corporate access firm located in the Washington, D.C. area. Before Think 20/20, Mr. Versace was the portfolio manager of Agile Capital Management (ACM), a thematically driven alternative investment fund. The groundwork for ACM was laid during Mr. Versace’s tenure as senior vice president of equity research at Friedman Billings Ramsey, where he produced award-winning, differentiated research coverage using an ecosystem perspective of the mobile phone industry and enabling component technologies across various material technologies, including RF semiconductors (RFID, GPS), LEDs and display technologies. During his tenure at FBR, Mr. Versace received honorable mentions in Institutional Investor annual research analyst rankings, was a five-star analyst by Zacks Investment Services and a four-star analyst ranked by Star Mine. Mr. Versace was also an analyst at Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette, as well as Salomon Brothers. Mr. Versace is currently a weekly contributor to The Washington Times. He has been quoted extensively in the Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, The Street.com, USA Today and other publications. He has participated in numerous industry panels, including the Northern Virginia Tech Council, We Media and others, and has appeared on Fox Business, CNBC, CNBC Europe, CNNfn and "America's Morning News." Mr. Versace earned bachelor's degrees in economics and mathematics at Fairfield University before earnings an master of business administration degree in Finance at Fordham University.

Articles by Chris Versace

VERSACE: Methodical approach brings best investing results

The past several days have been ones to watch in my opinion because so much has occurred in a relatively short period of time. I suspect it will take a few days of sorting it all out to properly understand exactly what has transpired and what the impact will be on the economy, commerce and the stock market.

March 26, 2010

VERSACE: Know your ABCs of IP and IPR

As I have described in this column, my investment lens is comprised of several thematic perspectives and we have touched on a few here and there over the past several months.

March 19, 2010

VERSACE: Making the most of those rising oil and gas prices

Over the past several columns, I've been tracking economic data and discussing how it ties together. This week, let's take a look at a ripple effect of an increasing commodity price and let's use oil as an example.

March 12, 2010

VERSACE: Pearls of investing wisdom from Uncle Warren

Last Friday, one of my favorite things to read was published. I say favorite because I find it at times humorous, always insightful and written in what we have come to call "plain English." I'm not talking about the latest list of who's who or another prognostication of the best of this or that. Rather, I am talking about Warren E. Buffett's latest annual shareholder letter, which can be found in the 2009 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. annual report.

March 5, 2010

VERSACE: Economic data stir fears as input costs increase

The last few weeks can be categorized by some as ones filled with mixed messages. Some earnings and economic data were positive and upbeat, while others underscored how dire the environment is on Main Street.

February 19, 2010

VERSACE: Snow adds to pressure but jobs still key concern

The record-setting snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic region this week is one factor, but there are others pressuring the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, into a 4.2 percent decline so far this year.

February 12, 2010

VERSACE: More data revisions raise more concern

A few weeks ago I touched on how a simple revision in the data we as investors track can be restated and was once considered a positive data point can become the opposite.

February 5, 2010

VERSACE: Economic indicators explain stock market’s slump

As I write this week's installment of "Your Money, Your Way," the stock market has posted several days of consecutive declines, which in aggregate equates to a fall of 5 percent for the S&P 500 since Jan. 22. On a year-to-date basis, that basket of stocks is down a more meager 3 percent, but far off its January high, in which it was up 3 percent.

January 29, 2010

VERSACE: Retreat in the stock market really no big surprise

The recent rash of economic data since the start of the New Year has reignited concerns over the strength of the current economic recovery. With initial jobless claims trending higher in recent weeks, producer prices continuing to move higher, fuel prices up significantly year on year, and other indicators suggesting there is ample slack in the domestic economy, it comes as little surprise that the stock market has receded from recent levels.

January 22, 2010

Earnings-rise forecasts for S&P 500 unrealistic

Expectations for earnings-per-share growth of more than 27 percent in 2010 over 2009 is more likely overly optimistic than not.

January 8, 2010

VERSACE: Pushing reset button for stock market returns

Many would argue that "out with the old, in with the new" is the de rigueur mind-set this week as we exit 2009 and enter 2010. The same is true with the investors' mind-set because after what looks like will be a close to a 25 percent return for the stock market this year, per the upward move in the S&P 500, all the investment return dials are set to zero on Friday.

January 1, 2010

VERSACE: Taking year-end stock of your investments

The last two weeks of the year tend to stir all types of reflection, from taking stock of the past 50 weeks to looking ahead to what the new year may bring. While this reflection can be personal, business or both in nature, I would encourage all to do some reflecting on existing financial positions as well.

December 25, 2009

VERSACE: Economists eye PPI, CPI for any hints of inflation

There was a plethora of economic data out this week ranging from housing starts and jobless claims to the Philadelphia Fed Index on Friday.

December 18, 2009

VERSACE: What does Santa have for the stock market?

As I write this, there are 10 trading days left before the Christmas holiday and 14 before the end of 2009.

December 11, 2009

VERSACE: Unemployment signals lackluster U.S. recovery

This week saw another rash of mixed economic data that continues to call into question the economic recovery - not so much whether there is one, but rather how strong or how fleeting it is.

December 4, 2009

VERSACE: Follow the shopping bags

Today is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that kicks off the traditional Christmas shopping season, and as such refers to the beginning of the period in which retailers go from posting losses (being in the red) to making profits (being in the black). Will consumers shop in order to give gifts this holiday season? More likely than not, but how many gifts they will give and where they will buy them are all good questions.

November 27, 2009

VERSACE: Mastering the microcap world

One of the key points that contrarian investors make is to not follow the herd. More simply, zig while others are zag to find an investment, be it stocks, bonds, land or some other investment vehicle, that may be overlooked and as such offers an interesting opportunity. Many professional money managers, institutional portfolio managers included, tend to stay focused on larger capitalization stocks while avoiding smaller ones. It stands to reason then that "microcap" stocks may offer some undiscovered opportunities.

November 20, 2009

VERSACE: High-frequency trading growing in popularity

Over the past few months there has been some concern in the markets, not just about the sustainability and volatility associated with its powerful increase in recent months, but also about who is doing all this trading. Normally, investor ownership data are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a lagged basis in the form of 13D filings, which is a notification that an investor holds more than 5 percent of any class of a companys shares. Ownership and trading, however, are two different things. As such, there has been growing interest about "dark-pool trading" and "high-frequency trading."

November 13, 2009