Art of Boring was created for curious and passionate investors. We share strategies, frameworks, and insights to help readers and listeners make better investment decisions. Our aim? To provide some bottom-up, long-term investing signal to cut through the short-term noise.

Playing the plan Mawer Canadian equity portfolio EP66

Playing the plan: Mawer’s Canadian equity portfolio | EP66

Why the current market environment “feels like 2030 is happening in 2020,” our perspective on the recent market recovery, and more.

July 3, 2020 27 Mins
Not boring finds for June 2020

(Not) boring finds for June 2020

Howard Marks sent a memo; Ray Dalio explained the last 500 years as they related to empires and reserve currencies; we learned a new word, “shoshin”; and scanned a lot of charts about U. S. advertising revenue trends.

June 30, 2020 2 Mins
Capitalizing on cloud migration EP65

Capitalizing on cloud migration | EP65

The implications of cloud migration for enterprises, investors, and business models.

June 17, 2020 27 Mins
confirmation bias

The enemy is us: Mitigating confirmation bias

Back in March, as physical distancing practices were being implemented globally, I was bemused by contrasting provocatively titled articles published within a day of one another.

June 10, 2020 16 Mins
bicycles

Introducing the new Mawer EAFE large cap strategy | EP64

Why the strategy was created, how it was launched, and some holding examples.

June 2, 2020 25 Mins
Not boring finds for May 2020

(Not) boring finds for May 2020

A podcast about decision-making theory, a global fiscal policy tracker, a blog about market assumptions, and an infinite monkey theorem experiment. The ideas springs have sprung.

May 27, 2020 1 Mins
Look-For-The-Baby.jpg

Look for the baby

This past week, one of my colleagues shared a learning at our weekly research meeting. Christian and his wife, Siggi, were on vacation when Siggi unfortunately dropped her iPhone into the bath.

July 10, 2014 3 Mins
Waiting-in-Line-The-High-Cost-Of-Red-Tape.jpg

Waiting in line: The high cost of red tape

Imagine you spent 4% of your life waiting in line. Given that there are 8,765 hours in a year, this would imply that you spent 350 hours each year staring at the backs of people’s heads.

July 4, 2014 3 Mins
The-Art-of-Survival.jpg

The art of survival

The restaurant industry is tough. Virtually anyone with decent cooking skills and a modest amount of capital can open one; the barriers to entry are quite low.

June 26, 2014 4 Mins
Fraudster-Alert-10-Ways-Investors-Can-Avoid-Being-Duped.jpg

Fraudster alert: 10 ways investors can avoid being duped

History is ripe with hucksters. Investors were reminded of this again this month when stock market darling Gowex declared bankruptcy.

June 17, 2014 11 Mins
The-Leopard-And-His-Spots-Deception-in-Emerging-Markets.jpg

The leopard and his spots: Deception in emerging markets

In a recent National Geographic article, paleontologists reported the discovery of a new fossil. The 126 million year old creature was given the name Cretophasmomima melanogramma which sounds slightly more exotic than its meaning: ancient black-lined stick insect.

May 29, 2014 2 Mins
Made-in-Detroit-Seeing-Value-Where-Others-Do-Not.jpg

Made in Detroit: Seeing value where others do not

A scrappy, twenty-something-year old from Detroit, Andy Didorosi does not fit into the typical image of American capitalism.

May 22, 2014 5 Mins
Scuttlebutt and its dramatic effect on long term investing

Scuttlebutt and its dramatic effect on long-term investing | John Wilson | EP10

John Wilson, analyst on Mawer’s global small cap equity strategy, defines scuttlebutt and its competitive advantage for long-term investors.

July 4, 2018 19 Mins
Underweight Our take on Japan

Underweight: Our take on Japan | David Ragan | EP09

David Ragan, portfolio manager of Mawer’s international equity strategies, reveals why the portfolio is—and has always been—underweight in Japan.

June 20, 2018 21 Mins
Getting in alignment Why investors need to pay attention to executive compensation

Getting in alignment: Why investors need to pay attention to executive compensation | Jeff Mo | EP08

Jeff Mo, portfolio manager of Mawer’s Canadian small cap strategies, discusses the importance of executive compensation to long-term investment performance.

June 6, 2018 35 Mins
Playing the plan Mawers equity philosophy in action

Playing the plan: Mawer's equity philosophy in action | Christian Deckart | EP07

Christian Deckart, Deputy CIO and co-manager of global small cap and global equity strategies, takes us on a journey through the Mawer investment philosophy by walking us through the investment thesis of four of the global small cap strategy’s top...

May 23, 2018 35 Mins
The competitive advantage of high performing teams

The competitive advantage of high performing teams | Vijay Viswanathan | EP06

Vijay Viswanathan, Mawer’s Director of Research, on the key characteristics of high performing investment teams.

May 9, 2018 32 Mins
Supersize me Province of Alberta goes large and issues first time benchmark euro denominated bond

Supersize me: Province of Alberta goes large and issues first-time benchmark euro-denominated bond | James Redpath | EP05

James Redpath (JR), Mawer fixed income portfolio manager, answers why the Alberta government issued a benchmark euro-denominated bond—four to five times the average deal size in Canada—and what it may mean for the Canadian debt market.

April 25, 2018 15 Mins

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Popular Posts

Post-mortem: Learnings from 2020 | EP80

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