Thought Leadership

None of us like volatility in the investments we make. Without it though our returns will be lower.
But how to achieve the returns you need to live your best life, while at the same time sleep at night.

Things to avoid; don’t try to predict the unpredictable.

What to do; Accept a range of outcomes in the short term and rely on the long term.

Five decades of experience tells David Booth those that are best at managing risk, also have the best lives.
Read the full text of David’s paper here.

There is a saying “From clogs to clogs in three generations” This comes from the idea that the first generation establishes business’s, the second builds it and the third loses it. This plays out when tracking what happened to millionaire families in the United States.

Morningstar have looked back at 2023 and find the lessons reinforce established long-term principles. We have summarised their article.

Herbs and spices packed with antioxidants and other beneficial compounds bring satisfying flavours to favourite foods.

Ben Carlson as usual has some common sense on building financial security and keeping it that way.

Joe Wiggins writes about the problem of short term thinking crowding out much better long term decision making. He makes the following points,
• We are driven by emotions. Its in our wiring and has to a degree allowed us to survive and evolve,
• Many of our decisions are based on what we are feeling right now,
• Fear dominates these decisions, fear of loss or fear of missing out,
• Our environment has driven us further towards short term thinking. We have more information and are better able to act on it,
• But long term thinking almost always works out better,
o You don’t need to be heroic,
o Your decisions don’t need to be optimal,
o There is no requirement for genius.
• Just sensible choices and patience. Something we are all capable of!

When you haven’t got much capital of your own, the road to financial security can seem long, hard and complex. But the truth is that wealth building is relatively simple. All it takes is time and the price of a cup of coffee.

Some companies experience an unbelievable surge in popularity, with their valuations increasing a hundredfold in the first few years of existence. Visualise being invested in one of those companies, valued at over $4 billion US dollars shortly after listing on the stock exchange. Now, visualise that same company seeing a staggering 96.82% dip in returns not long after. This isn’t a hypothetical scenario; this is the real story of Allbirds Inc.