17
Jan 2019A Year In Review
“Fear is the foe of the faddist, but the friend of the fundamentalist” Warren Buffet PART ONE: GENERAL PRINCIPLES Even in the context of a letter primarily focused on the year just past, it is worth restating that my overall philosophy of investment advice is goal-focused and planning-driven. This sharply distinguishes it from an approach that is market-focused and current events driven. Every successful investor…
22
Nov 2018A Portfolio is Not a Plan
“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing” – Oscar Wilde For this month’s “Wealth with Wisdom” I draw once again on the insights of Josh Brown. I must confess that after decades in the financial planning business I feel most of the clients whom I have had the privilege of working with did not fully appreciate…
31
Oct 2018The Cost of Litigation … Try Not to Take it Personally
Did you hear about the Ontario Superior Court case where three siblings spent close to $500,000 in litigation costs over their deceased father’s painting worth $30,000? If not please read on: Estate Trustees and Costs of Litigation: Try not to take it personally? How do you make sure this sorry state of affairs never happens to your family? In a word … communication. I have been…
25
Sep 2018There’s No Such Thing as Mosquito Week
“Headlines, in a way, are what mislead you because bad news is a headline, and gradual improvement is not” – Bill Gates What would you guess if I asked you what is the longest running cable TV event in history? Congratulations if you answered “Shark Week” which first was televised way back in 1988. Not surprisingly many of us are scared of sharks. Even I,…
27
Jun 2018Execution is (almost) Everything
“If more information was the answer, we would all be billionaires with perfect abs!” – Derek Sivers Derek Sivers is one of my favourite sources of wisdom because of his uncanny ability to communicate complex concepts in easy to understand words and numbers. So it is with his explanation that the importance of ideas is valuable only if they are coupled with proper execution….
24
Apr 201810 Things Investors Can Expect in 2018
Admittedly, referencing the title of this post and the date of this missive, perhaps I am writing a bit later in the year then I should. Then again, the title could refer to any year, or any month, when it comes to your portfolio. Hopefully, you will agree when you click through to read Ben Carlson’s excellent article. “Things Investors Can Expect in 2018” My…
07
Mar 2018The Wealth of Sapiens
“The most important money we spend is not the Lambo (the car) money. It’s avoiding-misery money.” – Daniel P. Egan What is wealth? For each of us it can mean many different things. I came across this thoughtful blog in which the author suggests that the true definition of wealth is when you have, ” … the option to buy what you truly need”. What is wealth? For…
13
Feb 2018The Return of Normal
“In bear markets, stocks return to their rightful owners.” J.P. Morgan Welcome to the “new normal” in regard to volatility (to the downside) when it comes to the stock market. Coincidentally, it bears a striking resemblance to the “old normal”. The steady increase in markets around the world, with no significant corrections over the last couple of years, is most definitely not how stock markets…
25
Jan 2018Why 2017 Was the Best Year in Human History?
“The more perspective you have, the better everything looks. And the less … the worse!” – Nick Murray It has been my tradition with these monthly missives to begin every year with a brief commentary on how our world is making tremendous progress on just about any metric you care to focus on. Unfortunately, it does seem many of us truly believe the planet is…
12
Dec 2017Merry Christmas from Monty the Penguin
For each of the last ten years the British retailer, John Lewis, has aired what has become an iconic holiday season commercial. Although this year’s #MozTheMonster was clever, in my opinion nothing comes close to 2014’s, “Monty the Penguin”. Admittedly, it is a rather slick piece of marketing directly targeted to tug on our heart strings … and open up our wallets and purses! Having said…
