Reading Time: 3 minutesLooking at individual stocks gets wild … It might surprise you that the following stocks have all yet to surpass their March-2000 dot-com era highs (at the time of writing. Admittedly 2 are getting close): Intel Cisco Pfizer AT&T General Electric It gets even weirder when you focus in on Cisco – despite being in … More Five surprising stocks in a 20-year bear market
Reading Time: 4 minutesOk so look I know the world probably doesn’t need another article on this. Obviously you’d need to have been on Mars for the last week not to have seen the world lose their minds over the GameStop stock story, that became an iconic meme, that became a saga that turned into a real pop … More Stop. But should long-term investors care?
Reading Time: 2 minutesTo follow on from underrated skills. In a remote world where everything’s changed and long-term is next month, which skills have gained in importance? Starting with “I’m not sure“ False certainty can be a huge risk at the best of times, even more so when the world has changed and no-one really knows for sure … More Uprated skills
Reading Time: 3 minutesYour standard finance textbook gets it wrong, or at least doesn’t tell you the full story. Three investors, three different paths of return this year (orange, green, blue). But assuming they start and end at the same point (I know they don’t quite), who feels best? And why? Which is the best investment? Simple question … More Yes, the journey matters
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOr the reasons why we place our trust in complex things we do not technically understand. The flushable toilet is not a modern invention by any stretch. It was first described in 1596, and began to appear in homes in the 1880s. Pretty much all of us will be fairly familiar with them. I reckon … More Why do people get on planes?
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe end of the year is a great time for reflection, the end of the decade, is the sort of milestone that only comes around a handful of times in our adult life and is special indeed. This is a rare chance – if we choose to take it – to look back, reflect on … More The Days are Long but the Years are Short – How to Reflect on a Decade
Reading Time: 2 minutesI’ve often said that thoughtful disagreement is one of the most underrated skills. We know we should do it, but we don’t know how, and worse, we’re heavily wired against it through ego and confirmation bias. I listened to this great conversation between Ray Dalio and Reid Hoffman, which contained a ton of useful tips … More Practical tips for thoughtful disagreement
Reading Time: < 1 minuteQuite big news out last week on the future of RPI, in DB pensions-land, amid everything else that’s going on. I’ve seen a variety of conflicting takes on the announcement, but clearly has implications for DB schemes. Here is a helpful reminder of some of the recent background context on the long-running issues with RPI. … More RPI surprises
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA fantastic piece by the great Morgan Housel. Four reasons why complexity sells – Working through complexity feels like real work, while simplicity feels like an easy walk (too easy?) Length superficially signals effort and thoughtfulness (flawed thinking that is not challenged often enough) Things you don’t understand create a mystique around people who do … More Why Complexity Sells
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe answer, according to Mercer ‘s Asset Allocation Survey is 6-8 ish if you are an institution below 1bn, and 13+ above 1bn. I’d say that’s consistent with my experience too in that 1bn tends to create a breakpoint where governance resources step up to cater for portfolios with more managers. But even with 6-8 active (plus … More How many managers does it take to …. ?
