“It’s one of my first principles that we never know where we’re going – given the unreliability of macro forecasting – but we ought to know where we are.” – Howard Marks Reader mailbag: I read your article about stock levels (New Round Numbers! What Does it All Mean?) and I’m curious how you could…

An old article from the New York Magazine made the rounds on Twitter last week titled “Strike up the bonds.” It was originally written in 1992 and it covered the economic uncertainty that existed at that time. Here are some excerpts: “The economy may, in fact, be stuck in a rarefied zone somewhere between recession…

“There are some frauds so well conducted that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them.” – Charles Cotton I was reading the book Think Twice by Michael Mauboussin recently (great book for anyone interested in behavioral psychology and how your brain processes information in a counterintuitive way) and he shared a story…

“What to do when the market goes down? Read the opinions of the investment gurus who are quoted in the WSJ. And, as you read, laugh. We all know that the pundits can’t predict short-term market movements. Yet there they are, desperately trying to sound intelligent when they really haven’t got a clue.” – Jonathan…

“People who buy things are suckers.” – Ron Swanson Just kidding. I’m way too impatient and/or lazy to get up early and deal with the huge crowds on Black Friday. My Christmas shopping strategy is to do as much of it online as possible. Amazon is my go-to first option. They have nearly everything on…

“Whenever I have lost money in the stock market I have always considered that I have learned something; that if I have lost money I have gained experience, so that the money really went for a tuition fee. A man has to have experience and he has to pay for it.” – Jesse Livermore Reminiscences…

“Stock picking is for fun. Asset allocation is for making money over the long haul.” – Barry Ritholtz

A bear market is normally defined as a drop of 20% or more in stock prices. By this definition, according to BAML, there have been 25 bear markets since 1929. That means markets have averaged one roughly every 3.5 years or so. Unfortunately, market averages aren’t neat and tidy. They trade in both short and…

The Atlantic published an interesting graphic recently on how the average life expectancy has changed from 1880 to today. In 1880, the average life expectancy was 39.4! Fast forward to a baby born in 2012 and their average life expectancy nearly doubles to just shy of 80 years. Each of the dots on the graph…

“If you’re investing for a lifetime – and you should be, saving for retirement and educating your kids along the way – if you’re 20 years old now, you should be thinking 60 or 65 years as your time horizon.” – John Bogle