When Paul O’Neill took over as CEO of aluminum industrial giant Alcoa in 1987, he stood in front of a crowd of Wall Street analysts and told them very plainly that his number one priority for the company was worker safety. Not profits, not growth, but safety...
Making money is hard. Keeping it is harder, and keeping it in the family across future generations is harder still. Indeed, the statistics are sobering. Among wealthy families, 70% of wealth is lost by the second generation, and 90% is lost by the third generation, all of which lends credence to the old adage of “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations...”
Where are satisfaction and fulfillment found? Answering that question is beyond the scope of this blog, but my goal in today’s post is to offer a simple framework for thinking about and measuring one's level of satisfaction, financial and otherwise...
Most investors are familiar with the term “asset allocation,” which describes the overall composition of one’s investment portfolio: how their funds are spread among various asset classes and categories. Often expressed in percentage terms and baked in a pie chart (see below), asset allocation is one of the key metrics by which investors and their advisors judge the efficacy of their portfolios. It is a critical piece of prudent investment management...
In every realm of thought – economics, philosophy, theology, etc. – opposed ideas inevitably arise that cannot be easily resolved. Every thinking person must therefore learn to allow these opposed, unresolved ideas to coexist in their minds without allowing that opposition to drive them crazy...
December is often referred to as the season of giving: not only because families and friends gather during the holidays to give presents, but also because of the tremendous surge of philanthropic support that tends to occur during the final month of the year. According to one study, roughly 1/3 of all charitable giving takes place in December...
Last week, I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal by James Mackintosh entitled "Speak No Evil of the S&P 500’s Neverending Records." The subtitle reads: “Investors buying stocks no matter what shouldn’t fool themselves that the future will deliver the chunky returns of the past decade.” Before I present a few counterpoints, let me begin by acknowledging that he’s right: no one should expect the S&P 500 to average 12.8% (adjusted for inflation) per year over the next decade...
I was twelve years old when I first picked up a violin. No magical beams of light spilled forth from the case when I opened it. I heard no choir of angels as I raised the instrument to my chin, and if there were any angels hanging around when I started playing, they probably plugged their ears and hightailed it out of there...
The Biden administration recently released the terms of the American Families Plan, the latest in a trio of major legislative proposals that began with the American Rescue Plan and American Jobs Plan. Broadly, these plans involve a lot of government spending, so it’s not particularly surprising that they also include a series of tax hikes, mostly aimed at wealthy taxpayers...
In early 2020, I interviewed my friend and subject matter expert Daniel Mason about blockchain and its various applications. Since then, blockchain and cryptocurrencies have continued to grow in popularity and legitimacy, as evidenced by the successful IPO of Coinbase – a major cryptocurrency exchange platform – last week. In light of the continued growth and interest in this arena, I asked him if I could share his reflections here on my blog, and he was kind enough to oblige...
