Insights on markets, emergent trends, history, innovation, risk management, global economics, strategy, policy, and other topics that catch our attention. Inspired by ongoing research, conversations and events. Written and edited by Osbon Capital Management and published every Thursday morning.
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Too much time is spent talking about price. Fundamentals are ultimately what drive equity prices higher over time. To say this another way, a company’s stock price can’t continue to rise unless it continues to be successful. The famous quote by Warren Buffett is, “In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run (...)
Investing’s Greatest Graph
This is one of the poignant stories told by the Andex chart. Produced annually by MorningStar, the Andex depicts the major asset classes over the last nine decades, plotting results in relation to interest rates, recessions, presidencies, savings rates, consumer prices, unemployment rates, tax rates, population and much more. We consider Andex to be the most meaningful pictures in the…
What return on my investments can I expect?
Clients and prospects often ask this question, so let’s talk it through. I can’t tell you what your return will be, but still there’s a fair amount I can tell you about what you can expect. Let’s take a look from a few different angles. What we can say and what we can’t Thank goodness for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,…
It’s all about you, or should be
Do you ever wonder if your investment portfolio is really customized to you? Are you concerned that you might be part of some “mass custom solution” where tens of thousands of people with some similarity to you are thrown into the same portfolio? Do you suspect that your investments are really an assortment of product placements? Fair questions. Let’s look closely…
Which Rockstar Investor Are You?
Let’s try something different this week and have some fun, too. Have you ever wondered what kind of Rockstar Investor you are? Take the quiz to find out. (Disclosure: no professional investment rockstars were harmed in the making of this project). Max Osbon- mosbon@osboncapital.com
7 Ways to Raise Your Expectations
Are you completely happy with your portfolio and investment professional? Or are you stuck in the 20th century model where they make, you buy, whether it fits or not? Despite all the positive changes happening in the investment industry, many providers have been slow to give investors the options, transparency and value they deserve. To all those investors, we have…
5 Ways To Tell You Are A Professional
Wealthy individuals often get there because they were successful at something other than investing. Building a business, developing real estate, perfecting a technological or medical breakthrough, taking smart chances, investing in oneself – these can create substantial financial wealth. After you have worked for your money and it’s time for your money to work for you, it’s important to ask yourself this: “how professional am…
Warren on “you” – from his 50th Annual Report
Warren Buffet wrote his first annual report to investors in 1965, a year before the first Super Bowl and seven years after the S&P 500 index was established. Little could anyone know then how his company and his wisdom would affect modern investing. His 50th report came out online Saturday morning and like many other people I read it with great…
The Power of Doubt
Doubt is a powerful tool. Although an unsettling emotion, a healthy dose can uncover dangerous illusions or costly omissions. This is especially valuable in investing where certainty is the rare exception. In fact, if you’re feeling too certain, you may have missed something important along the way. Here are five ways to use doubt to your benefit. 5 Doubts and the…
Buffett’s wager on S&P 500 vs. hedge funds: Year 7
How time flies. It’s now been seven years since Warren Buffett wagered one million dollars that an S&P 500 index fund would outperform the picks of a prominent hedge fund manager over a ten-year period. Another year of returns is in. Who’s ahead? Protege Partners must now hate this time of year You may recall this bet. We report on…