Tag Archive for: Steve Booren

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Preparation Over Panic

When a top American business leader starts rattling off reasons to fear today’s market, investors get uneasy. But in the echo chamber of media-made doubt, Jamie Dimon’s recent message got lost. To prepare for the worst, he recommended beefing up reserves, fortifying capital, and stress-testing for varied shocks. He didn’t advise hiding under the nearest desk but rather putting in the work, preparing and carrying on.
VUCA by SketchplanationsSketchplanations
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The Antidote to Ambiguity

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.
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The Price of Promise

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.
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The Certainty of Uncertainty

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?
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The Bell-Bottom Billionaires

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.
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Don’t Just Own Shares: Share Ownership

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.
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History Over Headlines

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.
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Meeting Mr. Market

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.
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We Plan For This

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.
charlie munger
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A Study in Curiosity, Simplicity, and Gratitude

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.
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We Planned for This

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…
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Volatility: Seen and Unseen

A few weeks back, a colleague showed me an article on commercial real estate in the Denver Tech Center. Apparently a few well-regarded buildings had changed hands at prices that caught his eye. The surprising news was the sell price earlier this year...

Market Forecasting: A Loser’s Game

It’s Friday, August 2, and I’m writing this article with CNBC open on my browser. The headline shouts, “Dow Loses 750 Points, Nasdaq Enters Correction After Weak Jobs Report.”
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Compounding Quietly

Compounding growth, whether in nature or finance, is similar: enough time can bring impressive results. Seemingly every few years, a familiar story is published. A quiet person from a forgotten town, typically with little or no education and a low paying job, accomplishes the unusual.
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Selling Fear, Greed, or Both

Across social media and YouTube, there are no shortage of pundits, professional or otherwise, offering financial “advice.” I congratulate writers focused on educating readers about these concepts. But my sense is many of these “gurus’” acquire and grow their income not on the education they offer, but on the number of eyeballs they attract.