Higher correlation also hurts the few managers that still engage in fundamental research: what is the point of forecasting earnings and understanding businesses if all stocks, good or bad, trade as one?

FORBES: How The Correlation Bubble Hurts Us All

"Only big companies with hefty asset levels are allowed to bid for PFIs and the need for consortiums demonstrates that even big companies sometimes have trouble meeting the PFI rules, " says James Hastings of the Construction Forecasting and Research group.

BBC: Private company bonanza

"Everybody thought they could become the new Saudi oil barons of Champaign, Illinois, " says Daniel Basse, president of AgResource, a Chicago agricultural research and forecasting outfit.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Enter Judah Cohen, Director of Seasonal Forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc.

FORBES: Is Global Warming Making It Snow?

The fund managers rely on research, market forecasting, and the experience and expertise of their portfolio management team.

FORBES: Index Fund Returns Get Better with Age

Separate research departments bring a variety of economic theories, analysis, forecasting techniques, and conclusions to the FOMC table.

FORBES: Removing Reserve Bank Presidents From FOMC: Another Bad Idea

There is certainly no dearth of research showing the sell-side analyst community to be woefully inaccurate at forecasting corporate profits.

FORBES: Don't Fall For The Analysts' Optimism

Verdict Research, a retail consultancy, is forecasting a 4.2% decline in the value of retail spending, excluding food and internet sales, in 2009.

ECONOMIST: The high street will stay in trouble