For this highly-acclaimed investor, successful investing can be summed up in just four words — “simple, but not easy”

It was recently my privilege and pleasure to attend a private CIBC Wealth presentation for Investment Advisors given by Howard Marks, the much-admired author of more than 140 “memos” about his investment strategies and insights — knowledge and experience he has gained throughout his long and very successful career in the investment industry. 

Also the author of three highly-acclaimed books on investing — my personal favourite being “The Most Important Thing” — he is the co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, the largest investor in distressed securities worldwide.

The circumstances may be different, but the message is still relevant

Back in 2016, we wrote a blog post about every successful investor’s secret weapon: Compounding. And in that post we also suggested that everyone should read the late Richard Russell’s classic letter, “Rich Man, Poor Man.” 

It won’t be long before 105 is the new 75. Are you prepared?

This is not silliness, neither is it far-fetched — it’s true. 

From the World Economic Forum comes this: “Two-thirds of the world’s population will be 65 years and above by 2050, according to the UN, and the projection for the global ageing economy is already estimated to reach $27 billion by 2025 — there will be more people ageing and living longer.” 

Too far in the future for you? Well, as of February 2021 there were already “more than half a million people aged 100 or older globally.”

Can you afford to live that long? 

Is “longevity” built into your financial plan and your portfolio? How long is your current “nest egg” projected to last? What happens if you live to 100 or more? Will you outlive your money?

History tells us everything we need to know, but do we always listen?

The longer I’m in this business, the more fascinated I become with investors’ behaviour. 

Intellectually we know that successful investing is all about the long term and what happens day to day, week to week, month to month or year to year will not have an adverse effect on our long term success. 

An article that should be of interest to all investors

We have always believed that “knowledge is power,” and are, therefore, committed to providing our clients and followers with reliable information on topics that are of value to all investors. 

One such topic, which is particularly relevant right now, is rising interest rates. 

There’s a reason why interest rates are such a hot topic right now

You can’t turn on the news or read an article that isn’t talking about inflation. In January the consumer price index, which measures the changes in the cost of everything from food and gasoline to housing, reported that inflation has hit its highest rate in 40 years — 7.5% in the US and 5.1% in Canada. I’m sure you’ve felt the impact. 

Does your estate plan include everything it should?

I ask, because if you can answer “yes” to even one of these questions, simply including personal assets and investments in your estate plan isn’t enough. What I’m referring to are “digital assets” — certainly not something traditional estate plans ever included.

• Do you use email?
• Do you bank or invest online?
• Do you shop online?
• Do you collect and redeem airline points?
• Do you have a blog, are you on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or any other social media?
• Do you have photos or other documents stored in Cloud or other storage accounts?
• Do you use PayPal or Apple Pay?
• Are there websites where any of your financial information is stored?

Would you be surprised to learn that even if all you have is an email account, if you answered “no” to the rest of the questions, email is a “digital asset.” And frankly the truth is, most of us have expanded our digital presence beyond email, particularly since COVID curtailed so many of our activities.

An epiphany, thanks to a total stranger

Austin Repath is an author, a philosopher and a former Humanities professor. He recently had an article — which really made me stop and think — published in the Globe and Mail. In it, in the form of a letter written to a young woman — a stranger he met — he reflected on the lessons he’s learned in his long life.

He starts off providing some context for this letter. He was in a coffee shop when a “twentysomething” started to talk to him. While it may not seem unusual on the face of it, it’s certainly not every day that you

Is Happiness Really a Matter of Dollars and Cents?

The world recently lost one of the 50 highest ranked economists in the world¹. Alan Kreuger was the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Obama presidency and was also his Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

But what I find most intriguing about him, is that he also studied happiness. Seriously, I’m not kidding. 

Along with the Nobel-Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, Kreuger co-authored what is

What Warren Buffett Can Teach Us About Risk

We’re turning our blog over to a guest blogger today. Vincent Linsley is a Canadian investment management sales and marketing professional. He also authors a blog, Investment Graffiti.

 

Warren Buffett’s 2019 Annual Letter to Shareholders was delivered on February 23 and eagerly-read by investors worldwide. The much-anticipated update provided an inside look at his company, currently the world’s highest-priced stock, trading at over US$300,000 per share.

The epitome of “basic” no frills writing style and structure, Buffett’s disciples read the letter religiously,

A lesson a client taught me

Not that long ago I received this note from a long time client:

“I was accustomed for 50+ years to expect to make a decent income next year, and the year after that, etc.. But after retiring, I realized that I will never again earn any income from my work. That is quite a scary feeling to adjust to. Post retirement, my sole source of feelings of safety is reliance upon you as my advisor, to look out for my interests.”

I’ve been thinking about what he said — and, most importantly, the meaning behind those words ever since;