Though she gets back to New York regularly, she said she has no regrets about moving Westwood to Dallas more than 15 years ago. Westwood managed $400 million in assets when Southwest Securities purchased it in 1993 and managed $4 billion when Southwest spun Westwood off again in 2001.

In a crowded industry, differentiation is more important than ever. Luckily, Ms. Byrne's opinions on the prognosis for the U.S. economy and the financial markets - which she airs regularly as a guest on CNBC programs - are anything but standard fare.

Wall Street's favorite guessing game right now is when the Federal Reserve will quit raising interest rates. The central bank's nearly two-year campaign has resulted in a flat yield curve, in which long-term interest rates pay investors about the same as short-term rates.

Meanwhile, stocks rally at every hint that the Fed is ready to pause. The inherent expectation is that the central bank would lower rates if the economy slows.

Ms. Byrne shared her perspective on why this conventional wisdom is premature.People believe that if the yield curve inverts, it will lead to a recession.

What we will have is a slowdown, not a recession. That means for at least the next year, we'll continue to see flat short-term and long-term rates. If the yield curve does invert, it will only be a result of long-term rates coming down.

Yes, because this kind of a curve allows people to shift out their liabilities to longer-dated debt. For example, homeowners with 15-year mortgages can move out to a 30-year mortgage. Obviously, there will be people who think they're too brilliant who try to flip condos who will get hurt, but normal people should be able to shift out.

If we have neighbors who are gaining industrial wealth, instead of competing on price for natural resources, we should be looking into a pure research and development alternative.

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