World Rankings of Think Tanks

In recent months, I have started to focus on strategic positioning for my portfolios.  In the previous post, I noted some of the sites I visit when "taking the pulse".  

Once I have identified some themes of interest, I visit the sites of trade publications, governmental agencies, regional newspapers and other sources as appropriate.  I also visit think tanks. 

Think tanks are an especially valuable source of information for three reasons: they are generally staffed by good, well-trained minds; their products provide context and detail; once you determine the organization's philosophical/political leanings, you can get a really good idea of how a constituency thinks.  

The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the International Relations Program of the University of Pennsylvania produces an annual report entitled, Go To Global Think Tanks Report and Policy Advice.  A link to the most recent Report is provided below:

http://www.gotothinktank.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2012-Global-Go-To-Think-Tank-Report.pdf


In preparing the 2012 edition, the University contacted 6,603 think tanks and ranked them subsequently within a series of categories.  The categorization is especially useful in that it enables one to direct lines of inquiry according to one's interests.  The report also provides an excellent overview of think tanks: trends, their affiliations, reasons for existence, and so on.  

Here are a few of the most highly ranked think tanks world-wide:

Brookings Institution
Chatham House
Breugel
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Amnesty International 
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

As a non-institutional investor, I have the luxury of being able to read at my leisure, free from the pressure of deadlines and expectations for "certain results".  I also have time to reflect.  It is while reading, that I get my best ideas and hints about how to progress with further research.  I am always amazed as to how generous people can be with sharing information.  Recent technological innovations have encouraged further sharing and the human species has benefitted tremendously as a result.  

Along this line, I am currently researching stock screeners.  I was astounded at what I found.  I used the screens to identify companies of potential interest within a few thematic areas and ended up investing in some of them.  A few of those companies were mentioned in the January edition of The Financial Passage Maker.  They have been quite profitable to date ... a pleasant beginning to the New Year.