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To our clients and friends:

The above quote is taken from legendary investment guru, Howard Marks. The full title of his book is: “The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor”. The message he sends is that investors who are truly successful prioritize the importance of addressing investment risk head-on. In designing a portfolio, they diversify their investments well. They often emphasize a “value investing” orientation.

We all know “investors” you meet at a cocktail party who ignore downside risk entirely. They may even act recklessly. Some of them stick their entire portfolio into a single stock, hoping to hit the lottery. Then when the market heads south, taking virtually every stock down with it, they wonder why the market has treated them so badly.

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To our clients and friends:

In investing—unlike football, hockey or other “fast” sports—the turtle usually wins the race against the hare. We all know of the quarterback who garners the most accolades for “quick decision-making”. We’ve all heard the Wayne Gretzky quote of “skating to where the puck is going to be, not where it is now”. However, investing is quite the opposite. As many of you know, the core philosophy of our firm is that there is never a reason to rush into buying or selling any investment. Instead, we recommend a different approach: 1) plan ahead; 2) employ a strategy; and 3) remain flexible in your analysis and portfolio positioning. These three keys are critical to building wealth and achieving one’s objective.

We all recognize that Sophocles was correct—it’s best to “stick with the plan” and never let panic or fear, greed or euphoria drive your investment strategy. But sometimes a lack of discipline throws us off course, and we make the wrong decision.</

Download Newsletter

To our clients and friends:

In investing—unlike football, hockey or other “fast” sports—the turtle usually wins the race against the hare. We all know of the quarterback who garners the most accolades for “quick decision-making”. We’ve all heard the Wayne Gretzky quote of “skating to where the puck is going to be, not where it is now”. However, investing is quite the opposite. As many of you know, the core philosophy of our firm is that there is never a reason to rush into buying or selling any investment. Instead, we recommend a different approach: 1) plan ahead; 2) employ a strategy; and 3) remain flexible in your analysis and portfolio positioning. These three keys are critical to building wealth and achieving one’s objective.

We all recognize that Sophocles was correct—it’s best to “stick with the plan” and never let panic or fear, greed or euphoria drive your investment strategy. But sometimes a lack of discipline throws us off course, and we make the wrong decision.</

Download Newsletter

To our clients and friends:

The above quote has erroneously been attributed to Yogi Berra over the years. It certainly sounds like something he would say. But it was Casey Stengel, another baseball great, who actually deserves the credit.

Predictions have always been the bane of investors.Legendary stock speculator Jesse Livermore, a famous stock trader during the early 1900’s once said "I never try to predict or anticipate. I only try to react to what the market is telling me by its behavior."

And then there is William O’Neil, author of the classic book, “How to Make Money in Stocks”. O’Neil is what is known as a “market technician”, which means he looks at price and volume, market breadth and other technical indicators. He makes it clear in his writings that he does not believe in crystal balls, personal opinions or predictions—they are of no use.

In his book, O’Neil says: “You do not need to know what the market is going to do! All you need to know is what the market has actually done! This is the key! Think about it for a minute. There is a fortune in this paragraph."