Reading Time: 2 minutes I was fortunate enough to recently read Stories from 2045 a great book of short stories from the futurist think tank The Economic Singularity Club which was founded by author & futurist Calum Chace and others to promote more thoughtful discussions about the future of jobs. The purpose of the book was to try and … More Stories from 2045
Reading Time: 2 minutes Some simple skills I think are underrated in today’s world of work: Planning effective meetings Facilitating effective meetings Capturing actions cleanly, and following up Structuring communication clearly and effectively These things don’t get talked about much, but when you work with someone who does them well it can be literally a life-changer, and so refreshing. … More Simple, but not easy
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ok so there aren’t any prizes here in 2019 for observing that consideration of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance factors) has become a big theme in the institutional investment space in the UK, the theme has been around for a number of years but has really gathered momentum in the last 12 months placing it … More Universal Owners: A New Culture of Weighing Externalities?
Reading Time: 1 minute I recently posted the following to Linkedin and it received over 20,000 views and over 250 likes. There are a lot of correlation geeks out there! I think it also shows the appeal of dynamic data visualisations, and I think its a shame that standard packages such as excel do no cater to this. Dynamic … More A Lot of Love for Correlation!
Reading Time: 7 minutes The evidence is undeniable. We all have brains that are set-up to make consistently bad choices when it comes to domains that are complex, ambiguous and unpredictable – like investing. We overestimate our own ability, screen out information that conflicts with our pre-conceived views, we fear losses, and anchor to what feels well known and … More Less-biased Thinking by Design
Reading Time: 4 minutes In finance 101 you learn all about the two types of risk: systematic (market) and non-systematic (idiosyncratic) risk, but conventional teaching tends to ignore a third risk – Behavioral risk, which can be the most important. >> From @danielcrosby ‘s excellent book The Behavioral Investor which provides both a new taxonomy of behavioral biases from … More The Mis-behaving Investor
Reading Time: 5 minutes 1. The Universal Owner Did you go to many investment conferences in 2018? You probably don’t need me to tell you that ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) considerations have been brought front and centre this year. I think this theme can be interpreted at a higher level in terms of how asset owners weigh externalities … More Three Ideas that Came of Age in 2018
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prisoners of Geography This book was a massive “AHA” moment for me: rivers, mountains, seas, plains, boundaries and why they mean, almost everything. Shoe Dog I’ll never look at a pair of Nikes the same way again. A business non-fiction that reads like a novel. A great real life tale combining sports and business entrepreneurship … More My Top 6 Books of 2018
Reading Time: 2 minutes The end of the year is a great time for real reflection, which can actually be surprisingly powerful in learning and developing (whether you define that as being better at work, at home being happier or more fulfilled etc). Sure you say, I know that and I’ll reflect at some point, on the train home … More 20 Questions to Reflect Professionally and Personally on 2018
Reading Time: 9 minutes A simple question of defining an oft-used term leads to important but tricky questions, and throws light on key issues. It becomes clear that running a pension scheme in run-off mode involves a very different set of considerations to deficit recovery mode. Mindset, language and tools need to change. The conclusion is that a full … More Running off DB Pensions: What is Self-Sufficiency?
