Category: investing
The Path to Value Realization
For many years, we’ve heard market prognosticators proclaim that the current bull market is nearing its fateful end. Between the Euro crisis, the U.S. debt downgrade, concerns about China, Brexit, the “taper tantrum,” and now the threat of an expanding trade war, they have offered plenty of reasons...
The Impact of Inflation
From the end of 2017 through April, inflation has increased from +2.1% to +2.5% (using CPI as a proxy). Over the same period, the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds has risen from 2.4% to 3.0%. These moves have led market participants to question if a change in the status quo is underway. Let’s...
Berkshire Trip 2018
In early May, I attended the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. The event, dubbed “Woodstock for Capitalists,” attracted more than 40,000 attendees from around the world.
All-Weather Portfolio Construction
It seems that there has been an increase in severe weather these days including floods, fire, and wind. In Savannah, we suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew last year and endured a mandatory evacuation this year due to Hurricane Irma. Hurricanes are a constant threat during the summer and...
An Antidote to Volatility
“Antidote”: Something that works against an unwanted condition to make it better.
Investment Approach Revisited
The S&P 500 continued its march higher in the third quarter and has now increased by 14% (including dividends) in 2017. International markets have reported even better results, with the MSCI World index (ex-U.S.) climbing 21% over the same period.
All-Weather Portfolio Construction
It seems that there has been an increase in severe weather these days including floods, fire, and wind. In Savannah, we suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew last year and endured a mandatory evacuation this year due to Hurricane Irma. Hurricanes are a constant threat during the summer and...
Investment Maxims
I attended an investment conference recently and one of the speakers was Stephen Friedman, former Chairman of Goldman Sachs. During his fireside chat, he mentioned that when it comes to investing, he follows some basic rules of risk management. He said that these rules were universal truths that...
Summer Reading
As part of our job as investment managers, we read numerous shareholder letters every year. Occasionally, these letters offer a unique perspective or insight that renews our enthusiasm for how we think about businesses and the art of long-term investing. The most recent letter from Amazon CEO Jeff...
Countering Volatility with Counterintuitive Action
My mom asked me once how I swallowed pills. “Show me,” she said. I went through the motions of pretending to put a pill in my mouth, mimed the act of taking a sip of water, then leaned my head back and swallowed. “That’s exactly the opposite of what you should do,” she said. “Instead of leaning...