Based on My True Stories, I’ll Let You Decide While surfing Twitter one weekend, I noticed another long debate about the difference between passive and active investment management. When the debate turned to the meaning and use of the words “active” and “passive”, I chimed in by sharing a brief tale of time I spent … More What Is Passive?
Are you ready for the big game? The poised Boston champion Pats vs. City of Brotherly Love, Rocky-like underdog Eagles. Beyond the entertainment of the Super Bowl, the NFL runs a business that generates exceptional returns. If marketing is your game, you could do a lot worse than to follow the lead of the NFL. … More Don’t Let Your Portfolio Get Sacked – Version LII
“A spectacular zero” and advice from Janet Yellen At the end of this post, I’ll explain the picture above and the advice Janet Yellen gave me. To start, though, most people know that I run an investment advisory firm and that, in the past, I held senior positions inside large Wall Street firms, giving advice … More Why I Don’t Make Forecasts
Working hard is important, but many studies and my experience suggest that, to perform better, we should slow down and do less. I wrote about this subject not long ago in a post titled, To Think Better, Goof Off and Go For A Walk . After returning from today’s morning walk, what did I find as … More How Can You Perform Better? Do Less
We all hear stories about growing economic inequality, but pictures do indeed speak a thousand words. Light colors represent counties in the U.S. that are growing. Darker colors illustrate those falling behind. Red highlights parts of the country that new research says are economically “distressed.” The chart above was published today at Axios and comes … More The Economy Has Improved but Many Have Been Left Behind
The picture might give this away, but to find out how a long-time beach patrol officer answered this question, and what my experience suggests, click the following: What Is the Leading Source of Beach and Ocean Trash? To learn more about ways to keep our oceans clean please also visit the website listed below. Clean … More What Is Most Common Source of Beach Trash?
Walking makes you think better and goofing off is good for you. And no, I’m not being goofy. Classical Greek philosophers understood well the benefit of a break. Aristotle’s school of thought is called Peripatetic, which means “walking” or “given to walk about”, and members of his school were thought to do their best thinking … More To Think Better – Goof Off and Go For A Walk
Strong Fiduciary Commitment – Why It Matters to Both Investment Firms and Investors In a sad follow-up to a previous post, it seems like the somewhat two-faced arguments of the investment industry have for now, won the regulatory day. With the death of Department of Labor Fiduciary Rules, my sad bet is that confusion is … More Fiduciary Commitment and Why It Matters
“Rogue Federal Agency” or “Watchdog Too Good At Its Job”? Above are two headlines from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times that give two sides of a growing debate about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (please see the links at the bottom of the this post and click through). Having spent most … More Strong Consumer Watchdog or Rogue Federal Agency?
This blog was started a few years ago as a place to share provoking ideas. I haven’t been as active as planned (life does get in the way sometimes), but hopefully it has gotten a few useful thoughts going. In an effort to get back on track, but with a nod to the limits of … More Provoking Posts and Brain Food