Mark Elliott of Elliott Asset Management in Boston is a gutsy investor whose past contrarian moves have paid off. His latest moves reflect his continuing love affair with hated investments, notably in MLPs and Puerto Rican bonds. In this podcast (23:28), Elliott explains a court appeal in which he is the lead plaintiff that he expects will reward holders of COFINA bonds. And he elaborates on his affinity for the most hated sub-sector within the most hated sector – MLPs.
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Retirement blogger Chris Mamula, writing on MarketWatch, offered some candid reflections on the things he got wrong two years into his very early retirement. This podcast (6:55) takes advantage of the opportunity to learn from somebody else’s mistakes, and offers thoughts on the experience, preparation and timing that should factor into one’s retirement planning.
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The Collaborative Fund’s Morgan Housel, on his blogpost yesterday, called “Risk is what you don’t see,” tells the story of the punch Houdini didn’t see coming. This podcast (3:46) notes a parallel between the Houdini story and the famous inattentional blindness experiment, in which about 50% of viewers fail to see a gorilla sauntering into the middle of a basketball game. Housel’s point is the risk that matters is the one you don’t see; mine is the only way to defend against such risk is to have a system in place that maintains portfolio stability.
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A paper on “Trends in Retirement Income Adequacy” reports that households who have “outlived their savings” is the authors’ most concerning finding. This podcast (6:10) outlines the process of avoiding this fate, acquiring income and assets by making what I call “good trades.”
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Veteran Wall Street recruiter Mark Elzweig observes that though advisors are generally well paid, many are not happy, which is ironic because their position carries unique advantages conducive to being happy. In this podcast (14:04), Elzweig, the author of a free e-book called “The Path to Success and Happiness for Financial Advisors,” explores pathways leading to fulfillment including autonomy, a sense of mastery and a sense of purpose.
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Surveying the past decade, one could say that macro-analysis fell into two camps, one questioning the propriety of the Fed’s balance-sheet expansion, the other saying “Don’t fight the Fed.” The Fedophobes lost big and the Fedophiles won big. But who’s to say that relationship won’t reverse this decade? This podcast (5:38) argues that the problem with macro-analysis is that it’s all too often a binary affair. A better approach, exemplified by Mohamed El-Erian’s recent interview in Investment News, raises good questions, warns of potential dangers and builds in portfolio flexibility.
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Pension protests in France and Chile are fueled in part by a feeling that retirement reality is more meager than they expected. This gap is also relevant to U.S. retirees. This podcast (5:19) suggests a way advisors can help clients better match expectations to reality to achieve a retirement they can afford.
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Beware of pundits advising portfolio changes on the basis of the U.S. drone attack on an Iranian general. Instead, position a portfolio for growth and resilience at all times. This podcast (5:38) argues that a better approach to trying to predict the unpredictable is to own stocks and keep cash, and buy cheap and sell dear.
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The Economist recently published a lead story on the so-called “young-old,” the Japanese term for workers aged 65 to 75, who the magazine expects to bolster their work participation this decade. This podcast (4:33) brings a medical anecdote to illustrate the physical and mental benefits of continued exertion, and suggests that financially secure retirees voluntarily undertake some sort of meaningful labor.
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Process matters more than stock picks and stock pickers. This podcast (4:58) argues that, paradoxically, by going after attractive investment returns, investors often end up with poor investment returns. But by adhering to a process that captures investment returns, investors needn’t sweat the details.
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