Prepare for a hot take: the earth is a sphere. Now that I’ve lost all the flat-earthers, let me continue. Since the earth is a sphere, we cannot perfectly map its surface. Despite this, we’ve persisted in translating our three-dimensional world onto a variety of two-dimensional surfaces. We don’t really have a choice. In order… [Read More] Investment Cartography
Investor Behavior
We believe that an investor's behavior can seriously impact their market returns. This category page is dedicated to informing our readers of certain behaviors that are known to damage investor's returns over time. We also discuss strategies to avoiding these damaging behaviors.
Why You Need to Be Like a 4-Year Old
To become a successful long-term investor, you have to be like a 4-year old. Let me explain. In 2016, Swiss-born philosopher and author Alain de Botton wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times titled, “Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person”. Naturally this title ruffled a few feathers, and sparked a lot of… [Read More] Why You Need to Be Like a 4-Year Old
It’s Never Your Fault
The Major League Baseball regular season ended last weekend, and the New York Mets finished in a disappointing fourth place in the National League East division with 77 wins. It was clear from the early stages of this season that the Mets were simply not a well-constructed team, and would have trouble making the playoffs. … [Read More] It’s Never Your Fault
Politicians and Your Money
People will nod their head in agreement when advisors say things like “Politicians do not control the markets.” But people still believe it! So I’m going to tap lightly on a “third rail” of topics we should probably steer clear from – politics! Over my career, different clients have told me to my face, the… [Read More] Politicians and Your Money
Compounding Comes From Discipline
We had an interesting conversation recently with a “friend of the firm.” Kathleen is not a client, but rather a peer – she charts, just like we do. She told us how she made lots of transactions from quarter to quarter and even month to month, picking up 10% here, 15% there. It’s a lot… [Read More] Compounding Comes From Discipline
The Prefrontal Cortex, part I
According to the definition found at Neuropsychotherapist.com, the prefrontal cortex “…region of the brain has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making… ” Maybe a part of our brain stops us from becoming better investors? So, help me reconcile this quote from Warren Buffett: “There seems to be some perverse human characteristic… [Read More] The Prefrontal Cortex, part I