Ben Carlson

Defining ‘This Time is Different’

“The biggest investing errors come not from factors that are informational or analytical, but from those that are psychological.” – Howard Marks In John Templeton’s timeless 16 rules for Investment Success (published in 1933) he states: “The investor who says, ‘This time is different,’ when in fact it’s virtually a repeat of an earlier situation, has…

What if the Future is Better Than We Think?

“Humanity is now entering a period of radical transformation in which technology has the potential to significantly raise the basic standards of living for every man, woman and child on the planet.” – Peter Diamandis I’m a fairly optimistic person, but it can be difficult at times to keep a glass-is-half-full mentality when the majority…

Year End Investment Performance Review

“This year I invested in pumpkins. They’ve been going up the whole month of October and I got a feeling they’re going to peak right around January. Then bang! That’s when I’ll cash in.” – Homer Simpson

Asset Allocation Quilt

“The most important thing you can have is a good strategic asset allocation mix. So, what the investor needs to do is have a balanced, structured portfolio – a portfolio that does well in different environments….we don’t know that we’re going to win. We have to have diversified bets.” – Ray Dalio This is one of…

Lessons Learned From William Bernstein

“Finance is never, ever, a theoretical exercise; you’re never half as detached from portfolio losses as you think you will be.” – William Bernstein William Bernstein is a legend in the long term investing advice universe. Bernstein is actually a neurologist that decided to teach himself about investing and wealth management. His self-teaching eventually led…

2013 Year in Review (Part 1)

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” – Walter Elliott These are my investment lessons and takeaways from an interesting year in 2013.

2013 Lessons Learned

Josh Brown has a terrific piece up today at The Reformed Broker that summarizes the lessons learned in 2013 by people from all over the world of finance and media.