Ben Carlson

Point/Counterpoint on Real Estate as an Investment Option

“A house is certainly not an investment, for one simple reason: You have to live somewhere, and you are either going to have to pay for it or rent it. Always remember, investment is the deferral of present consumption for future consumption, and it anything qualifies as present consumption, it is a residence.” – William…

Why Aren’t There More Value Funds?

“Value investors are not concerned with getting rich tomorrow. People who want to get rich quickly, will not get rich at all. There is nothing wrong with getting rich slowly.” – Warren Buffett

The Worst 50/50 Stock/Bond Real Returns

Following my post this week on the worst 10 year 50/50 stock/bond portfolio returns I received a number of requests from people asking what these performance numbers would look like on a real (inflation-adjusted) basis.  Here are annualized the results: The deflationary period of the 1930s actually improves the performance of those 10-year cycles.  A…

What’s the Worst 10 Year Return From a 50/50 Stock/Bond Portfolio?

“The stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient.” – Warren Buffett Last night on Twitter I posted the following table of 10 year S&P 500 annualized returns (which I’ve used in the past): This shows the worst rolling calendar 10-year return numbers going back to 1928. You can see…

Inflation is a Relatively New Phenomenon

One of the biggest worries about the economy these days is the fact that inflation is still relatively low. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said as much this past week: With inflation running at around 1 percent, at this point I think the risk is greater that we should be worried about inflation undershooting our goal…

What’s Your Reference Point?

“Avoid the twin impostors of short term out- and under-performance. It is important for us to remember what really matters is the long-term.” – Howard Marks At what point in the past are you judging your stock performance? The first few weeks of April? Didn’t look so great. The last year? Much better. 2008? Not…

My Time on the Sell Side

“Wall street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.” – Warren Buffett My first experience in the investment industry was during my senior year of college. I spent an entire semester working for a group of sell side analysts. This is…

Financial Matters

“If I were an executive coach, I would try to focus each individual on the facets they can control. Emphasizing what’s in your control allows you to adopt an attitude of equanimity toward luck. You’ve done all that you can, and from there you have to live with the results—good or bad.” – Michael Mauboussin…

Why Does the Cycle of Fear and Greed Persist?

“Truth be told, if you keep buying high and selling low, you should stay out of the stock market, because you’re losing money. Your primary goal as an investor should be not to lose money.” – Carl Richards In summer of 2009, I sat in on a panel discussion consisting of 3 or 4 portfolio…