Toward the end of the Cold War, a new kind of landscape emerged — defined by turbulence, ambiguity and interconnection. In that moment, folks at the U.S. Army War College coined the term VUCA, an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.
If we believe the headlines, an artificial intelligence revolution is upon us. For investors who experienced the dot-com boom, the vibe sure feels similar. But remember what human nature loves most: the chase. As history shows, it rarely ends well.
Remember that as investors, we are constantly on the precipice of uncertainty. We can never confidently know how anything will play out. No one can. So what should we do? With everything changing, we think we should be adapting. New circumstances require portfolio changes, right?
As a student of markets, I believe history is a roadmap for the future. The past may not repeat, but it certainly tends to rhyme. So when I came across “A History of the United States in Five Crashes” by Scott Nation, I was hooked.
As we enter fall 2025, the S&P 500 is in the green for the year. It’s as if April’s panic never happened. This isn’t a fever dream, but a reminder: Stick to your plan.
Being told in 1979 that two yet-to-be-founded companies would be worth more than the entire output of the U.S. economy would have sounded like science fiction. But this history offers a valuable reminder that the future is so big, it’s almost incomprehensible.
What if there were a way to raise your income during retirement — one that doesn’t require working or selling off your possessions? Let me introduce you to the quiet but powerful concept of dividend growth.
Can you name five companies whose products or services you use almost daily? What top brands are your family members unable to live without? We consistently rely on — and budget for — these brands and businesses in our daily activities.
Perspective is in increasingly short supply right now. Business news and market commentary is ever focused on urgency. But good investor behavior requires thinking long-term, staying grounded, and resisting the belief that daily market machinations are important enough to warrant changes.
What would it look like to have a conversation with “The Market” (the embodiment of the S&P 500)? What knowledge might we learn from this nebulous thing if only we could ask it? Let’s find out.
Gut check: How have you been over the past month? When my last column was published a scant four weeks ago, markets were knocking on the door of all-time highs, and the overall feeling was one of cautious optimism. A lot can change in four weeks.
On occasion, someone pursues a deeper understanding of what drives markets and investors. Charlie Munger, the late vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett’s lifelong business partner was one of them.
As of December 31, the “Magnificent Seven” accounted for roughly half of the Index’s 2024 gain, according to CNBC. This has left many people wondering, are these companies deserving of this much capital, or is a bubble inflating America’s largest enterprises?
The Trump administration is set to kick off a series of policy moves focused on, among many things, reducing government waste. It’s not surprising to see a renewed focus on our government’s and politicians’ extravagant spending, especially when some families struggle to put food on the table due to persistent inflation (which is arguably also […]
With the holidays rapidly approaching, I find late December is a great time for family, friends, festivities, and a little reflection. The end of 2024 marks an important milestone: The first quarter of this century is now behind us. If you’re like me, the turn of the millennium doesn’t feel that long ago, yet the […]
Somewhere around age 62 — about the time many people begin thinking seriously about retirement — the focus shifts. The conversation moves from accumulation to preservation, from maximizing growth to ensuring durability. The question is no longer, “How much can I build?” but rather, “Will this last?”
