First published in 1949, Ben Graham’s The Intelligent Investor remains highly influential, especially with Warren Buffett, who regards it as “the best book on investing ever written.” Buffett often highlights the book’s focus on long-term investing and managing market cycles. Graham’s famous… Read More
Challenges of Long-Term Investing
Time is often cited as the most important factor in investment success. On average, assets tend to rise in price over time. So “just hang in there”, goes the conventional advice. “You’ll make money over time. Remember, investing isn’t about… Read More
Higher Interest Rates: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Perhaps the most important economic and market driver over the last few years has been the Federal Reserve’s (“Fed”) aggressive inflation battle marked by a sharp rise in interest rates. Since 2021 the Fed has raised rates 11 times totaling… Read More
The Hardest Time to Invest
The hardest time to invest is always now. This statement might seem to be an exaggeration. Surely, there have been times in financial history when investing was more challenging? The dot-com crash, the financial crisis of 2008, and the market… Read More
Building a Resilient Retirement Portfolio
Portfolio Resilience2022 marked a negative year for markets, as inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical strife weighed on stocks, bonds, housing, and just about every global asset market. A few of the questions looming in investors’ minds for 2023 include:… Read More
When Lower Stock Prices & Higher Rates are Good
Stocks Are Getting Cheaper In his 1997 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffet explained why declining stocks are good news for long-term investors: If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should… Read More
How to Avoid Financial Anxiety & Can the Federal Reserve Engineer a Soft Landing?
The Big Picture ~ Financial Discipline and Happiness Global markets are in the midst of a bear market, with developed market stock prices down approximately 20% from the peak reached in early January. This is the 14th of these episodes… Read More
The 4 Big Risk Factors for a Recession in 2022-2023
The Big Picture ~ Recessions and Bear Markets This year, the S&P 500 peaked on January 3rd at an all-time high of 4,796. Since then the index has dropped 4.6% through the end of March. This is a relatively modest… Read More
Staying Invested with the K.I.S.S. Strategy
The Big Picture – Staying Invested We are strong adherents of the KISS (“keep it simple stupid”) philosophy when it comes to investing. Focus on a few things that matter: prudent asset allocation, quality of earnings and dividend growth, competitive… Read More
Signal vs Noise – Q4 2021 Client Letter
Investing, by definition, is a long-term endeavor. But investing for the long-term means staying focused through periods of short-term volatility, and frequently negative news flow. As the old saying in media goes, “if it bleeds, it leads”. Big down days… Read More