July 2012 on the Investment Writing blog

Here are the links to the July posts you missed on the new Investment Writing blog:

• Miller’s Killer: Paper swap brainstorming blog and article ideas
• Poll: How quickly and often should you follow up with prospects for your financial services?
• Reader challenge: Can you explain duration better than The New York Times?
• Are your paragraphs the right length?
• Q&A: How to look trustworthy in your professional photo
• Punctuation reminder: When an -ly adverb is part of a compound modifier
• Poll: When can’t you replace “headwinds” in your commentary?
• Colons and bullets: Keep ‘em together or tear ‘em apart?
• Reader challenge: What makes advisor websites outstanding?
• Use social media to find a job

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Copyright 2012 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

October updates to the Investment Writing blog

If you’re not visiting my InvestmentWriting blog in its new location, you’ve missed the following posts over the last month:

• Should the Morningstar style box go 3-D? Quality counts, says Atlanta Capital
• Poll: “Investable” or “investible”–which spelling is correct?
• My five favorite reference books for writers
• no, No, NO: My business card shouldn’t add me to your e-newsletter list
• Guest post: "How Seeking Alpha Can Build Your Professional Reputation"
• Your spell checker doesn’t work, so you must proofread
• Effective writing and blogging is faster with a plan
• Four lessons from Wasatch Funds on reporting underperformance
• Guest post: “Would you like to know how financial advisors are choosing products?
• Blogging buddies: Financial bloggers’ secret weapons

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Receive a free 32-page e-book with client communications tips when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  

Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

If you enjoy my #CFA2010 tweets...

...you may also enjoy my free monthly e-newsletter with practical tips for your client communications. You'll also find at least one investment or wealth management article. 

I often report on presentations to the Boston Security Analysts Society, so you know you'll see topics of interest to CFA charterholders.

Topics in the May 2010 issue included

• Watch out for inflation, says veteran value investor, Jean-Marie Eveillard
  Treasurys vs. Treasuries--Which is the right spelling? 
• How to guest-blog on personal finance or investing 
• Poll: How do you sign your business emails? 
• Last month's reader poll about ghostbloggers 
• Morgan Creek Capital's Yusko on investing

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Receive a free 32-page e-book with client communications tips when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  

Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Treasurys vs. Treasuries -- Which is the right spelling?

What's the right way to spell the plural of Treasury, as in U.S. Treasury bond?

Should it be "Treasurys," following the rule that the members of the Murphy family become Murphys? Or should it follow the normal rules of creating plurals for words that end in the letter y?

I panicked when I saw "Treasurys" in The Wall Street Journal. Eek! Have I been spelling the word wrong for 20-odd years?

However, I quickly discovered that opinions are split. When I Googled the terms, there were 2.2 million results for Treasuries vs. only 1.5 million for Treasurys. 

The evidence for Treasuries
Here's the rule that would typically apply. "...if a word ends in a -y that isn't preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed by omitting the -y and substituting -ies...," according to Garner's Modern American Usage. Garner makes an exception for proper names ending in y. He agrees that Murphy becomes Murphys.

Does Treasury qualify as a proper name? Proper names are usually personal names--such as Murphy--or geographic names--such as Washington, D.C. Following this reasoning, Treasuries makes sense.

My friend, financial editor Harriett Magee, found that sources including the Barron's Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms agreed with Treasuries. Plus, her spell-checker flagged Treasurys as a mistake. 

If you prefer Treasurys...
You've got some high-powered company if you stick with Treasurys. When The Wall Street Journal spells it that way, that legitimizes it in my eyes.

If you can't bear not knowing what's 100% correct, then use the workaround that Harriett Magee suggests. Refer to Treasury bonds, Treasury notes, and so on. It's bit wordy, but correct. 

Follow this advice, no matter what you decide
It's important to use your words consistently in your corporate communications. Pick one spelling and stick with it. 

Consider creating a corporate style guide that lists preferred spellings. It's a lot easier to have an authoritative source for your company than to try to keep the rules in your head.


My thanks go to David Glen, senior vice president at Boston Private Bank, for raising this question.
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The next session of "How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A Five-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors" starts April 22. Sign up to receive my free monthly newsletter.
Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Do you go crazy over misspellings?

Then you'll probably enjoy "Ten Words You Should Stop Misspelling" from TheOatmeal.com. I couldn't stop laughing.

I discovered this through Twitter. This isn't a business reason to participate in Twitter but a little laughter helps every now and then.

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Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.
Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved