December 20, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 0 comments
As we close out this year, I’ll give 2021 a mixed review. Lots to celebrate, certainly. Yet sometimes I wonder how we managed to love, laugh, create, and learn during such a wild, wild year. In a year filled with uncertainty, major cultural shifts, and more than a few honest-to-goodness WTF moments, how did we […]
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Confirming what you know and finding what you don't
Getting up to speed in a new industry – 5 top challenges
February 14, 2022 / by Marcy Phelps / Tips/Techniques / 1 comment
As business professionals, we often need to know the ins and outs of a new industry. Maybe you have a new client or a new job. Perhaps it’s a valuation case or a merger. Or maybe you just need to understand what’s going on now and in the future within your own rapidly-changing business environment. […]
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Using News and Social Media for Finding Financial Assets – 5 Top Tips
January 31, 2022 / by Marcy Phelps / Asset investigations / 4 comments
As a private investigator, I search social media and online news for our clients on a daily basis, and I find it especially useful for asset investigations. Not everything will show up in public records, and news and social media research helps fill in the gaps. Here are just a few examples of what we’ve […]
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Top post: Why I’m a mentor
January 17, 2022 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 2 comments
Updated and republished from last year, because it’s such a timely topic. There’s not much I’d add, except this: Even if you’re not ready for a formal mentoring situation, think about one thing you can do this month to help someone who is just starting out. January is National #MentoringMonth here in the U.S., and, as […]
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Finding financial assets online – When to start the investigation
January 3, 2022 / by Marcy Phelps / Asset investigations / 0 comments
In situations where you’re investigating fraud, heading to court, enforcing a judgment, or preparing for a divorce case, it’s likely that you’ll need to conduct an asset investigation. You’ll want to look at the evidence and determine net worth, observe spending habits, and identify assets and sources of income that can go towards debt repayment. […]
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Holiday wishes
December 20, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 0 comments
As we close out this year, I’ll give 2021 a mixed review. Lots to celebrate, certainly. Yet sometimes I wonder how we managed to love, laugh, create, and learn during such a wild, wild year. In a year filled with uncertainty, major cultural shifts, and more than a few honest-to-goodness WTF moments, how did we […]
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Getting great search results – It starts at the source
December 6, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Information skills, Search tools / 2 comments
Online searching is about much more than finding. Once you’ve run your searches, now what? And how did you get to the point of constructing some worthwhile searches? In a previous post, I listed several steps involved in the search process, and in this and future posts I’ll go into more detail about each step. […]
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Giving thanks
November 22, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 2 comments
This week in the U.S., we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Several years ago, I wrote about how thankful I was for for the people who make a difference by sharing their knowledge. Nothing’s changed on the list, and I could have just re-posted it, but a lot has happened over the past couple of years, […]
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Hedge fund due diligence investigations FAQ
November 8, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Due diligence, Fraud / 0 comments
As a private investigator, my area of specialty is fraud. I help my clients spot it and prevent it. One way I do this is with hedge fund due diligence background investigations. Through the years, I’ve been asked a lot about hedge fund background investigations and what’s involved, and I’ve discovered that there are lots […]
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Things this private investigator doesn’t do
October 25, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigative business / 2 comments
After becoming a private investigator, I discovered that investigators are a diverse group. We have different backgrounds, areas of specialty, and clientele. We also have different work styles, and, over the years, I’ve discovered some of my non-negotiables, like doing client work on weekends and not verifying degrees until I have the proper paperwork in-hand. […]
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Investigative research – What makes it unique?
October 11, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigations / 2 comments
Research is research, right? As a private investigator and fraud examiner, I conduct a lot of research on people, companies, industries, and trends. Which is what I also did as a market researcher before becoming an investigator. Back then, I gathered information from online and human sources, looked for patterns, and transformed my findings into […]
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