Here are some books and writings that I have found to be the most helpful in shaping my thinking this year. For a longer-term geopolitical framework, I highly recommend Disunited Nations, by Peter Zeihan. It’s a very easy, somewhat fun, yet informative read on the shifting geopolitical tides we’re likely to see play out over…
Are your Investments Antifragile? Are your Investments Essential?
Two really great books that I highly recommend are Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder by Nassim Taleb and Essentialism: The Discipline Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. I read Antifragile a little while ago but saw an article this week that I thought was worth passing on. It discusses how to live an antifragile…
When Correlations go to 1, Short Volatility and Negative Convexity
2017 has been the year to sell volatility. Volatility on nearly all asset classes has been compressed to historically low levels, which is a function of the world’s major Central Banks going into asset purchase overdrive for the past 18 months. When you flood the global financial system with free money, people tend to leverage…
The Art of Contrary Thinking
I just finished a great book that I think is very fitting to read in this election year. It’s called The Art of Contrary Thinking, by Humphrey B Neill. It’s a collection of articles he wrote in the early 1950’s. You might think a book this old isn’t useful today but things haven’t changed all…
The Future of Europe
I haven’t chimed in with my two cents on Greece yet but I figured you might be wondering what I think, and more importantly, how it might affect investment markets. It’s no secret that I’ve been pretty critical of the Eurozone the past few years. A monetary union without a fiscal union just cannot work…
Why Government Bonds are the Worst Long-Term Investment
Things are heating up between Greece and the rest of Europe and time is quickly running out without a solution. There are really only two solutions: Greece either 1) leaves the Eurozone and returns to the drachma which will rapidly lose value as they once again have the ability print as much as they want,…
How to Find the Best Long Term Investments
I’m just about finished with an absolutely fantastic book by William Thorndike called The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEO’s and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success. I highly recommend this book to anyone that runs their own company, manages people at work or makes investment decisions in stocks (for themselves or others). I often say that…
How to Get the Most out of Your Venture
I just finished a fantastic book from 99U, an organization focused on helping people make ideas happen, called Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career. It’s a collection of short chapters from various specialists making it a very easy read. The cool thing is that even if you’re…