One of the problems with the institutional investment industry is many of the firms who help oversee the assets for nonprofits are too focused on the markets and not focused enough on the unique challenges and opportunities these organizations face. A lot of consultants forget that the assets they are managing are earmarked to do…

One of the great things about the Internet is that it’s broken down many of the barriers to information that existed in the past. Investors can now become more informed than ever before if they know where to look and who to trust. You no longer have to go through the gatekeepers to access relevant…

The asset class quilt is my favorite performance chart because it illustrates how difficult it can be to predict the winners and losers each year in the markets. There’s little rhyme or reason for how these things play out from year-to-year so it provides a good reminder for investors to understand that any single year’s…

I’ve gotten the opportunity to speak with a number of college students over the past few years. I’m always impressed at how far ahead of the game most of these students are from where I was at their age. At these talks, I mostly try to share my story and tell them some of the…

The following is another piece I wrote for Bloomberg with some thoughts on what, if anything, the president means for stock market performance or risk. ******* Plenty of ink has been spilled by pundits, economists, portfolio managers, strategists and the financial media about what President Donald Trump’s economic plans, cabinet selections, trade talk, fiscal policy…

The Guardian recently ran a piece written by 94-year-old Harry Smith. Smith waxed poetic on his description of what growing old has meant to him: People should not look at their approaching golden years with dread or apprehension but as perhaps one of the most significant stages in their development as a human being, even…

“Risk control is the best route to loss avoidance. Risk avoidance, on the other hand, is likely to lead to return avoidance as well.” – Howard Marks Here’s a conversation that has likely occurred in some form or another — either as an inner monologue, between a financial professional and client or among investors —…

Tim Ferriss had a wide-ranging interview on a recent podcast with Ezra Klein. They touched on a few subjects where Ferriss was quick to point out he didn’t have all the answers. I liked how he framed the idea of our overconfident nature: Humans are, and history certainly proves this out over and over and over…

A few months ago I was asked to write for Bloomberg to help provide context and perspective around the financial markets. I’m really excited about the opportunity. I’ve been writing there roughly once a week since mid-January. I have to wait a few weeks after my pieces run on Bloomberg to re-publish here so occasionally…

Snap Inc. (SNAP) has been getting plenty of headlines for going public late last week. Consumer technology companies tend to get a lot of publicity and Snapchat has an estimated 150 million-plus daily users so it makes sense this one has been getting so much attention. The IPO offering price was set at $17/share but…