Weekly Articles by Osbon Capital Management:
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The Just-In-Time Economy
In recent weeks we’ve been writing about productivity and what it means for the economy and market performance. One key ingredient in productivity for many firms is the just-in-time production model. Some forward-thinking people believe that just-in-time businesses will smooth out or even eventually eliminate recessions. They have a good point. Just in time – the practice of optimally delivering…
Our Favorite Tools For Personal Payments and Cash Flow
When it comes to paying for goods and services you have many choices these days. The least attractive (besides the quickly disappearing handwritten check) is physical cash, even for small purchases. Over time it has simply become easier to make purchases without paper or coins. In the post-cash era, new payment providers and startups are fighting to gain users and…
Ten Tips for College 2019
Guest Post This week’s post is guest authored by Dana, an engineer and former US Army Officer, and a close friend of Osbon Capital Management. My spouse and I applied to college in pre-internet days. We now realize how much times have changed! With our oldest child a high school senior this year, and with two others on deck, we…
How Much Financial Pressure Are You Putting On Yourself?
Warren Buffet says, “Don’t risk what you already have for what you don’t need.” Like most sage remarks, this seems so obvious, but has big implications for how we live and make decisions. When we overreach financially, we open the possibility of going backward instead of forward and experiencing much more stress and uncertainty than necessary. Is this happening to…
The Devil’s Financial Dictionary
Long time financial writer Jason Zweig published The Devil’s Financial Dictionary in 2015. The book is both factual and lighthearted. It’s easy to see our personal weaknesses in Zweig’s Dictionary. He says that the definitions are “mostly true.” He also uses a red dollar sign to flag things that may not be technically true, but still say something about the…
Avoid the Situations that Lead to Investment Mistakes
Why do people sometimes make bad decisions? Even smart, open-minded, thoughtful people can and do make poor choices. But why? This article is inspired by a conversation between two of my favorite thinkers, Shane Parish of Farnam Street and Adam Robinson, founder of the Princeton Review. Their research identifies situations where we are prone to mistakes and poor judgment —…
When Is Passive Too Passive?
Regular readers and clients know Osbon Capital Management as an early and continued champion of index investing. Five years ago the distinction between active management and passive indexing was fairly well defined. Passive meant holding a market cap weighted basket of stocks. Active investors practiced stock picking, and some market timing, hoping to avoid the losers and find the winners….
Warren Buffett’s Insight Never Gets Old
On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway released its annual shareholder letter. For investment professionals and BRK aficionados, it’s something to look forward to every year as must-read. The beauty of the letter, penned by Warren Buffett, is how well his comments about Berkshire, one of the world’s most valuable companies, apply to individual investors. Here’s what we learned this year from the 54th annual letter:
A Look At Business Cycle Confidence
The business cycle has gone onward and upward for ten years. That has meant positive returns for investors in equities, debt and real estate alike. The question of when it ends seems to be a perennial question. It’s a question that we hear often from clients, prospects, friends and family. Headlines can be particularly unhelpful as their news model is often reliant on triggering emotional reactions for clicks. To us, it doesn’t look like the cycle ends anytime soon. Here is why:
