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Monday, July 17, 2023

Growing up, my family used to spend two weeks every summer at South Padre Island. My grandparents had a fishing boat, and the three of us spent many an early morning patrolling the Laguna Madre Bay in search of speckled trout...

Monday, May 8, 2023

Climbing – bouldering, specifically – is one of my favorite hobbies. I was first introduced to it in graduate school, and quickly became hooked. It offers both a great workout and a mental challenge...

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

The events of the past several days have been unsettling. Headlines about bank failures and government bailouts have conjured specters of the Great Financial Crisis...

Monday, February 27, 2023

There once was an old man who had four adult children. The man had found great success in business, and when he passed, he left his children a considerable fortune...

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

The recent passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act has grabbed a lot of headlines. The bill contains a long list of provisions related to retirement plans, such as increasing the Required Minimum Distribution age...

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Thursday, December 8, 2022

Several years ago, a friend of mine was suffering through a nasty divorce that sent him spiraling into a dark place of self-doubt, confusion, and unhealthy rumination. Aside from the hurt feelings and sense of betrayal...

Monday, October 24, 2022

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, ...

Monday, May 16, 2022

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...

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

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...

Monday, March 14, 2022

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...

Monday, January 31, 2022

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...

Friday, December 10, 2021

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...

Thursday, October 28, 2021

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...

Monday, August 2, 2021

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...

Monday, May 10, 2021

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..

Monday, April 19, 2021

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...

Monday, March 22, 2021

Whether consciously or subconsciously, methodically or haphazardly, we are all in a constant state of expectation-setting. We set expectations for ourselves, our spouses, our friends, and our co-workers. We set professional expectations...

Monday, February 8, 2021

In case you missed the biggest market story of the new year, here’s the short version: a group of rogue retail investors got together on Reddit (a popular online forum) and decided to stick it to the man by aggressively purchasing shares...

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

For decades, the IPO (initial public offering) has stood as the gateway to the public markets for big private companies seeking access to more capital. This year, however, there have been some noteworthy exceptions – companies such as...

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Among all the issues and uncertainties that are top-of-mind for high income earners and high-net-worth individuals these days (not to mention the accountants, attorneys, and advisors who serve them), a key concern is the possibility of...

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Fall has officially arrived, and the college football season has officially begun (sort of). If you’ve ever been to a college football game, you’ve probably witnessed the tradition of players and fans holding up four fingers at the end...

Monday, August 10, 2020

Growing up, my grandfather was one of my heroes. His given name was Homer, but we all called him Bones. The son of a Methodist minister, he served as a Navy doctor during World War II and practiced urology in Houston for four decades. He...

Monday, July 20, 2020

2020 has been a year of dramatic change. Change in the economy. Change in the markets. Change in our politics. Change in our institutions. Change in our work. Change in our domestic and social lives...

Friday, May 22, 2020

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman might be the most oft-cited book in the financial blogosphere, and for good reason. The text synthesizes decades of psychological research by Kahneman and his long-time research partner, Amos...

Monday, April 20, 2020

At a time when trade has, to a great extent, literally been turned off, we are all bearing witness to an extreme example of how trade-offs govern economics, politics, and just about everything else in life...

Friday, March 20, 2020

I’d like to begin today’s note by expressing my heartfelt thanks to our clients, many of whom are regular readers of the blog. The kindness, understanding, and resolve that you’ve exhibited over the last few weeks have been inspirational...

Monday, March 2, 2020

Last week was…not great for global equity markets. If you checked the value of your investment accounts, chances are, you weren’t thrilled with what you saw. If you haven’t checked your accounts, I applaud your restraint. Headlines were...

Monday, February 24, 2020

Full disclosure: I’m bullish on emerging market (EM) stocks and have been for some time. Consequently, for some time, I’ve had the feeling of somebody who shows up too early to a party: the room is ready, the champagne is poured, and it...

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

There are a few things my two kids absolutely love. Food, books, silly noises, and bath time all rank highly. However, there is one thing they value most of all, and that is time with their mom and dad. Our 3-year-old son constantly...