I’m a big believer in the idea that simple beats complex so I’m always on the lookout for examples of this in the business world. I love the back story on Five Guys, the fast casual burger place. On the Five Guys’ website, founder Jerry Murrell says his mother always told him, “If you can give…

A reader asks: I wanted your advice about when do you recommend one sells holdings that have appreciated? I understand the concept of buying low but would appreciate your advice on when to sell. I understand reversion to the mean and have been guilty in the past of holding on too long, only to see all…

People in finance often say things because they make for good sound bites but don’t actually back them up with solid reasoning. Sound bites make you sound intelligent but rules of thumb always require some context. In this piece I wrote for Bloomberg I provide some context around one of the most misused phrases in…

The size of the global asset management industry is staggering. Boston Consulting Group estimates that as of year end 2016 there was close to $70 trillion in assets under management globally (meaning money that paid a fee for the management of assets). Here’s the breakdown showing the growth in worldwide AUM since 2002: It would only make sense…

In the 30 years ended 2016, the S&P 500 returned just over 10% per year. Compounding at that rate, fifty grand invested at the start of 1987 would have grown to nearly $875,000 by the end of last year. Not bad. Besides the usual caveats — taxes, fees, behavior, diversification, etc. — the problem with…

Jason Zweig and Morgan Housel are two of my favorite writers and thinkers. They explain the complexities of business, markets and human behavior better than anyone. I’ve learned a lot from these two when it comes to writing, communicating and focusing on what matters. I don’t disagree with these guys very often but I’m going…

After seeing countless stories and statistics on the Canadian housing market I did some research to check things out for myself. The numbers I found are staggering. They make the U.S. housing bubble that led up to the financial crisis look like an amateur. I don’t throw around the word ‘bubble’ loosely but the Canadian housing…

A couple years ago I read an article about a new online brokerage firm that was geared towards young people called Robinhood. It sounded intriguing so I opened up an account to give it a test run. The great thing about Robinhood is that all trades are commission free. I trade infrequently but I’m always…

“The single greatest challenge you face as an investor is handling the truth about yourself.” – Jason Zweig In a presentation I gave a couple weeks ago I used the following slide: Your Money & Your Brain by Jason Zweig is my favorite book on human behavior so I’m constantly sourcing, re-reading and using material from…

It’s hard to believe but it’s now been 10 years since the first rumblings began prior to the Great Financial Crisis. My guess is we’ll be re-living many of the events that led to the worst crisis since the Great Depression in the months and years ahead. Financial stocks and some home builders saw some…