In good times lots of things get overlooked in the business world...some that are now getting deserved scrutiny. Over the past decade there has been little challenge to the standard venture capital model...raise as much money as possible...live well on a 2% management fee and add a nice carry to the mix. Claim you add value through a Rolodex and some semblance of operational or market expertise on the team.

As more and more of my friends began looking closely at VC portfolio returns before jumping into Fund #5, the enthusiasm to become an LP began to wane quickly. Sure there were the stellar funds...mostly carried by one or two big hits...but the long term, track record of most VCs has been dismal with those few exceptions.

Fred Wilson has been reviewing the math behind VC returns recently and to his credit was pointing out that the math didn't add up well. Azeem Azhar takes the math one step further thanks to data from Thomson Reuters...and the returns are even worse than Fred had depicted.

I am not sure exactly what to make of the 2008 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey Report that found physician incomes across the board rising in 2008 despite the economic meltdown. I met with thousands of physicians all across the country last year and while the economy may not hit physicians as hard as some, the feedback I received was that people were working hard just to maintain.

This is the 16th annual edition of the report created by Sullivan, Cotter & Associates Inc.

According to the survey the increase was 4.4% for specialists and 4% for primary care.

Read the coverage in Healthcare Finance News. I encourage our physician members and readers to send me your thoughts.

It's amazing to look back at how many smart and educated folks were laughing at the likes of Peter Schiff while they were telling us the fundamentals of our economy were in disrepair.

I appreciate the insights provided to our members over the past few months from leading financial experts around the country. We hand-picked these experts as ones who operated by the numbers. They left the irrational exuberance to the masses. Now they are sharing their thoughts with physicians in order to help physicians make good decisions about their money,

There is a lot more great content coming after the New Year with the introduction of some new partners and more materials from our existing partners. Make 2009 a prosperous year!!!

I'm so happy to introduce the first speaker in our Financial Crisis Education Series: Michael Ryan . Michael is Head of Wealth Management Research-Americas at UBS.
He directs teams of approximately 70 investment strategists and analysts in the Americas, Asia and Europe who are dedicated exclusively to serving the investment needs of individual investors. With more than 20 years experience in the financial industry, he is widely recognized as an expert on fixed income markets.
Michael has appeared on CNN, CNBC, CNBC Europe, TV Tokyo and Bloomberg Television. He is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones News Services, Reuters, Financial Times, Nikkei news and Bloomberg.
Michael will speak to iMedExchange members on Tuesday, November 4th at 7pm EST. Members may sign up for this free conference call by emailing info@imedexchange.com.

Today, iMedExchange is launching a groundbreaking set of financial resources to benefit US physicians. iMedExchange's Financial Resource Center has been developed in response to our members' specific requests to share proprietary research, provide access to respected financial experts and to support the collaboration of physicians around financial matters. Money management is always important for physicians, but it's importance has been significantly heightened since world financial matters have been in crisis.

An important part of iMedExchange's physician-focused Financial Resource Center is the launch of the Financial Crisis Speaker Series. The Series kicks off at 7pm EST on Tuesday November 4 with a keynote presentation by Michael Ryan, the head of research for UBS. In addition to UBS, the series will feature nationally renowned financial experts from Abernathy Group, Sinnot Wealth Management, Biotech Monthly, speciality fund managers, research departments of global banks and more.

Each speaker will participate in a live conference call and respond to questions from physicians. The calls will be recorded and posted on the iMedExchange Financial Resource Center for members to review at any time.

In addition to the weekly speaker series, very insightful content, much of it written specifically for iMedExchange members, will be added to the site from the Company's growing list of financial partners. In addition to research from our partners, iMedExchange is also launching a new daily publication, Vital Signs, which will summarize the important financial news story with analysis specially for our physician members.

Vital Signs and the Speaker Series, and the additional resources we will be adding on a weekly basis, will be available only to US physicians who are members of the growing iMedExchange community. iMedExchange is a FREE online place for physicians to connect with one other, great content and now experts. If you are a US physician and not yet a member, please go to www.imedexchange.com to fill out a simple application and join the fastest growing community of physicians in the country.

If you are a financial expert or media and want to talk more about this effort, please feel free to reach me at: info@imedexchange.com.