Weekly Articles by Osbon Capital Management:
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Individual Securities Vs. Indexes: Investing’s biggest competition
Nothing is more central to our economy than competition. Competition rewards innovation, smart investments and cost control. We see competition between local restaurants and between global giants like Amazon and FedEx. We also see — and benefit from — competition between divergent ideas and business methods. In the investment world, the competition between stock pickers and indexers has been raging…
Small Stocks for Big Gains
As we enter the final month of the final year of the decade, investors face the eternal question: how much should I have in stocks at this point? As a start on that answer, we must acknowledge that thinking about stocks as one asset class really is an oversimplification. I suggest we look first at a subset of the stock…
Demographics Are Fundamental To Investing
Andy Kessler wrote a great WSJ article on Monday about China and demographics, called “Old Age Will Put China To Rest”. It made me remember how excited we were at Morgan Stanley 35 years ago when we started to collect demographic data outside the United States. Today, in 2019, our access to demographic data has grown exponentially. It’s important we…
Atomic Habits for Investors
I read James Clear’s Atomic Habits last week. It got me thinking about how our performance as investors can be greatly affected by our habits — both our ability to adopt (and sustain) good ones and to break bad ones. Clear’s premise is very compelling; he suggests when we can get down to the atomic level in our thoughts and…
When You Are Acquired: The Three R’s To Consider
More than 200 Massachusetts companies have been acquired so far this year. Almost all were privately held. When you are acquired, it’s not just a life-changing liquidity event, it’s validation of your business model and a hard-earned reward for your ideas and long hours. In the big deal, you’ll receive cash, stock and/or incentives to continue working. Then what? Based…
The Go-To-Market Economy
What exactly is a go-to-market (GTM) company? A GTM company is intensely focused on creating new and innovative strategies to attract new customers. Rather than building new technology or new service models these companies don’t have to have the latest and greatest offering to attract new business. In order to be viable, they have to have a reasonable path to…
Consensus Is Rare
It’s difficult to get a broad idea across in one headline. When it is done in the investment media, the bias almost always skews negative, mostly for dramatic effect. If all indicators were bad, everyone would want to sell and there would be no buyers. With positive consensus, on the other hand, there would be no sellers. A broad and…
A Sample Of One – Politics and Investing
For the second time in twenty years, talk of impeachment is in the air. Like last time, impeachment probably will happen, likely followed quickly by acquittal. The whole show could be over by the end of the year, according to the Speaker of the House. The markets have greeted this news with a giant yawn. Why isn’t impeachment more of…
Investment Anniversaries: What We Can Learn from Historic Days
Not all investment days are created equal. There’s something about the start of Fall today that brings anniversaries to mind. Many people believe August, September and October are cursed times to invest, that stock plunges are inevitable and imminent. A closer look shows that important anniversaries are spread randomly throughout the year; surges and crashes know no calendar. Let’s take…
