Insights
Letters to Stakeholders — the macro view, written down monthly
A monthly letter on the macroeconomic forces reorganizing the global economy — published without a gap since 2020.
71 published · page 4 of 6
All Weather Portfolio
Friday, October 6th, 9:34 am EST. Before we write about the month can we talk about the week? Our country made history by ousting our own Speaker of the U.S. House of representatives. Interest rates in the bond markets have risen and the stock market didn’t…
Structured Notes and Rich Men North of Richmond
Friday, September 8th, 2:34 pm EST. It’s all happening now. The TD/Schwab transition has finally happened. Those who were predicting negative returns finally got it right in August (slightly). And we are now prepared to add the benefits of structured notes to…
Life if Wonderful - Jason Mraz
Tuesday, August 8th, 9:33 am EST. How connected do you feel to the global economy? That’s a question I ask each of you during our family governance process. The most common response is that you feel somewhat insulated from shocks to the financial system. That…
The World Is Changing
Thursday, July 6th, 10:02 am EST. One of the things I’ve learned while diving into the theory of financial advice is how both complex and simple it can be. Looking up at the markets on a holiday-shortened week highlights this reality. Your account is still up…
What is Shareholder Advocacy?
Wednesday, June 7th, 9:02 am EST. Crisis averted. Phew. No longer in the news, our nation’s self-inflicted “debt ceiling” drama is over until 2025. There are many who say there “was always going to be a deal,” but the past few years have shown us that…
TD Becoming Schwab
Friday, May 5th, 3:02 pm EST. Spring has sprung. Despite recent bank failures, rising interest rates and incessant talk of recession, your balances are up this year and so is the country’s Gross Domestic Product (the total of our country’s production). So far…
How a Structured Note Works
Monday, April 10th, 3:22 pm EST. We are nearly four full months into 2023 and not much of our financial outlook has changed. There was an expected slow down in economic activity (spending) but that still hasn’t materialized (especially in travel). If spending…
Investing versus Trading
Read of listen here: Tuesday, March 7th, 9:42 am EST. Just as hope began to rise in the hearts of investors – and their statements – February showed up to crash the economic party. Why the constant volatility [up and down]? Blame A.I.. Artificial Intelligence…
Structured Notes and Junk Fees
Read or Listen here: Friday, February 10th, 8:58 am EST. Predictably, we enjoyed positive stock market growth last month, just when prognosticators and pundits assumed declines. During these first few days of February, we’ve started to see “the market” give…
Looking Forward to 2023
Read this post or LISTEN here: Wednesday, January 11th, 1:34 pm EST. It is with great pleasure that we bid adieu to 2022. You not only endured the worst stock market decline since 2008, you also persevered through the worst US bond decline. Ever. What a year.…
We really compete in 2023
Read or listen to our letter here: Wednesday, December 7th, 1:04 pm EST. For the second month in a row, you will see a slight improvement in your account balance. These “unrealized gains” are a welcome change from the “unrealized losses” of 2022. The…
Inflation, Profiteering and Partisanship
Read of just LISTEN to our letter here: Monday, November 7th, 2:06 pm EST. We acted just like we promised. By now even your hairstylist knows that the reason the stock market and bond markets have been down this year is due to increased interest rates. In…