A recent press article said that with major risk assets looking “fully valued”, it was time to seek out alternative investments such as hedge funds. But those thinking of making that shift might want to look before they leap. According to consulting firm McKinsey and Co, hedge funds and other “alternative” investments will command up […]

Imagine a world where investors in the stock market have no skill whatsoever. The investors themselves don’t understand this, however, and many truly believe that they are good at what they do. But in this thought experiment, there’s no doubt about the underlying reasons for fund managers’ success: When they turn in an outstanding performance, […]

‘Ten Stocks for Ten Years’ – that was the headline in The Australian Financial Review nearly 5 years ago. The paper had interviewed analysts to identify 10 stocks to ride out the next decade with. Nearly half way through, how are they going? Resource and energy stocks topped the AFR’s December 2009 list of the […]

Reliability and steadiness are essential to any successful career, whether you’re a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, or a barber. That’s because these qualities are directly tied to long-term performance. You won’t achieve success over the years if you don’t stick to your principles, if you fail to learn from your mistakes, or if you regularly […]

When you’re making any purchasing decision, you make a judgement about whether you believe you’re getting value for money.  Along with price, other things that may come into the calculation include convenience, great service or in the case of luxury goods, the perceived effect on your social status. But when it comes to money management, the [...]

In many areas of life, intense activity and constant monitoring of results represent the path to success. In investment, that approach gets turned on its head. The Chinese philosophy of Taoism has a word for it: “Wuwei”. It literally means “non-doing”. In other words, the busier we are with our long-term investments and the more [...]