In this podcast, I provide some early glimpses of the power of artificial intelligence in practice. I also discuss some concerns I have for the technologies' broader usage in investment management and allow Microsoft's CoPilot to chime in.

The Logic of Asset Management

Sep 1st, 2023 6m 36s

Cash holdings may provide comfort, but inflation diminishes the value of uninvested cash over time. Outside of purchase delays and product substitutes, there is little more consumers can do to directly address inflation. Investors, on the other

For Every Seller...

Jul 7th, 2023 8m 32s

So long as one did not carry too substantial an amount of interest rate risk in portfolios, markets provided a solid foundation for generally positive returns over the past quarter and year. While fixed income returns have yet to register the n

With Tech Tread Carefully

Jun 5th, 2023 7m 40s

While it’s understandable that investors may get excited about future prospects of new industries and business models, that enthusiasm may need to be tempered when it comes to the associated investment cases. Early investors may see substantial

How Much Risk Where?

Mar 30th, 2023 7m 16s

Over the four-plus decades since Americans last braced against a high-inflation environment, investors have seen interest rates sink to fresh lows and rise to lower peaks with each successive economic cycle. Rates are well off recent depths on

Contrary Cues

Feb 5th, 2023 9m 33s

In recent months we’ve sought to highlight the notion that investment markets are forward-looking, meaning that they tend to reflect aggregate investor views as to where global economies and the countries and companies that operate within them

No Room for Cosplay in Investing

Dec 3rd, 2022 7m 28s

Most years see some manner of substantial decline in stocks, even as most full-year tallies turn out positive. This year has proved an exception to that tendency. Thus far, at least—there’s still about a month to go. With stocks well off the tr

Changes at the Margin

Nov 5th, 2022 6m 44s

Seems reasonable to expect that corporate earnings are likely to fall on account of inflation-induced weaker profitability and a slowdown in revenue growth. The growth-stall is likely to stem in part from the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame t

Bad News is Good News?

Oct 7th, 2022 7m 50s

Many trends suggest progress has been made against inflation, which remains historically elevated across most of the globe. And though mixed in their estimates for how quickly and to what level inflation will fall, survey- and market-based meas

Such Profound Convictions

Sep 1st, 2022 8m 35s

We were having such a good time, weren’t we? After dropping more than 20% from the beginning of the year through mid-June, the market staged a convincing rebound as investors seemingly saw fit to look beyond the complexities of central bank pol

Every Little Bit

Aug 6th, 2022 6m 42s

With savings, every little bit counts. In our view, one should focus on regular contributions to investment portfolios to build an asset base, in turn allowing investment gains to compound over time and further bolster accumulated assets. In ad

Genuinely Patient

Jul 1st, 2022 7m 6s

Unlike market peaks, when positive sentiment easily supports staying in the game, a market drawdown leads many to question portfolio exposure to equity. Fears of further downside to come not only leave many hesitant to retain an existing strate

How Very Smart You Are!

May 7th, 2022 7m 23s

Only once before in the history of the U.S. fixed income market have investment-grade bonds suffered as steep a decline as their current drawdown. The consequence of the impending reversal of stupendously accommodative, COVID-focused monetary p

On Fiduciary Duty

Apr 1st, 2022 7m 25s

Given the unpredictability of investment markets and corporate fundamentals, we tend to pay minor heed to generally unreliable guesswork about the future, instead emphasizing the facts of market history. Analyst estimates for corporate earnings

Paths Diverged

Feb 5th, 2022 5m 58s

The world has been left bereft of “safe” yield for a decade. And over that time, savers have been required to adjust their perspectives regarding what’s possible in terms of income generation from a portfolio. That thinking has led many to purs

Braving Future Performance

Jan 7th, 2022 7m 56s

While it’s true that we fancy smaller, less-expensive and more profitable companies, those preferences have not been shared among the bulk of investors over the past decade. With relative performance as testament to that fact, investors have be

"Be Cheerful."

Dec 3rd, 2021 7m 56s

Fresh variation in the COVID-19 virus spooked investors over the Thanksgiving holiday. Fears of the virus rather quickly gave ways to fears of missing out on further market gains, then turned about again. The u-turns brought these tenets to min

Inflation and the Planets

Nov 5th, 2021 6m 17s

When something new comes along in Finance, it can be fun to watch market participants line up to present themselves as experts, quick to provide “insight” into what the future will hold. Over the past few weeks, voluminous ink has been spilt ov

Worst Week in a Few Weeks!

Oct 1st, 2021 8m 11s

Each spring, we hear echoes of a favorite line among many market watchers: the months of May through October have proved the worst of all in terms of return for U.S. investors, so better to watch out. Perhaps even cut and run. Among other such

When is a Portfolio Like a Pizza?

Sep 3rd, 2021 7m 11s

Financial and social media can leave investors with an overpowering feeling that there’s something missing in their portfolios. Our approach seeks in many ways to counter those pressures. And there actually are many oft-championed exposures tha

Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know

Aug 7th, 2021 7m 56s

On July 19, late-day headlines spoke of “carnage” during that day’s equity market “rout”. “Plunging” indexes prompted scary thoughts of impending market doom. And an evening walk around the neighborhood confirmed the locals heard those scary me

Different Voices

Jul 9th, 2021 5m 34s

Still surging from the pandemic bottom, global stocks continued a run that followed last fall’s pandemic resurgence. After struggling in the first quarter as rates generally rose on account of expectations for increased growth (and potentially

Risk Ever Present

Jul 2nd, 2021 6m 54s

In our advisory work, we find two perspectives provide the basis for determining a level of exposure to investment risk appropriate for each client: capacity to take on investment risk and willingness to take on that risk. While capacity can be

Gravity of Confidence

Jun 5th, 2021 8m 57s

The relative performance of our favored equity characteristics have set a few records over the past year, with small-cap and value-oriented stocks having found renewed favor among investors. Perhaps that should not come as a surprise, given the