'Twas the week before Christmas
‘Twas the week before Christmas, so let's have some fun. Mawer recaps the main themes of 2021.
The 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.
‘Twas the week before Christmas, so let's have some fun. Mawer recaps the main themes of 2021.
Global debt, China’s credit cycle, shifting monetary and fiscal policy objectives, and the three scenarios we are thinking about this year.
Impacts of higher inflation and interest rates and the benefits of an integrated research team.
How an engineering principle can improve investment risk management.
Inflation risk, slowing global growth, and the un-globalization trend—a review of Q3.
Why we launched—our interest and history in U.S. mid cap stocks—potential benefits of the asset class, and a few holding examples.
John Kay’s “simplicity, modularity, redundancy” risk framework elements and our ongoing risk management process improvements.
Mispricing patterns we’re seeing in the market; where we’re finding an edge; improving our management team assessment techniques.
A real time risk management discussion addressing the increasing regulatory pressures currently impacting a wide range of businesses in China.
The tremendous IPO activity led by tech companies; our evaluation process for a company prior to it becoming public; and recent matrix meeting outcomes for the portfolio.
Philip Fisher’s continuous relevance; determining fair value ranges for blitzscalers; and potentially overlooked opportunities in Russia and Kazakhstan.
A review of the quarter: the high-level themes have continued.
‘Twas the week before Christmas, so let's have some fun. Mawer recaps the main themes of 2021.
Global debt, China’s credit cycle, shifting monetary and fiscal policy objectives, and the three scenarios we are thinking about this year.
Impacts of higher inflation and interest rates and the benefits of an integrated research team.
How an engineering principle can improve investment risk management.
Inflation risk, slowing global growth, and the un-globalization trend—a review of Q3.
Why we launched—our interest and history in U.S. mid cap stocks—potential benefits of the asset class, and a few holding examples.
John Kay’s “simplicity, modularity, redundancy” risk framework elements and our ongoing risk management process improvements.
Mispricing patterns we’re seeing in the market; where we’re finding an edge; improving our management team assessment techniques.
A real time risk management discussion addressing the increasing regulatory pressures currently impacting a wide range of businesses in China.
The tremendous IPO activity led by tech companies; our evaluation process for a company prior to it becoming public; and recent matrix meeting outcomes for the portfolio.
Philip Fisher’s continuous relevance; determining fair value ranges for blitzscalers; and potentially overlooked opportunities in Russia and Kazakhstan.
A review of the quarter: the high-level themes have continued.
Narrow rules have a cost. Although there is value in the clarity of rule, process and position, a system must also be flexible.
Just how important is a common language to investing? While some investors view it as the sort of soft, fluffy stuff best left to liberal arts majors, empirically—and in our experience— it is an essential feature of high performing investment teams.
A few weeks ago, I was introduced to Google’s Toothbrush Test. Contrary to the images that the name inspires, this test does not involve sticking a web-enabled toothbrush into your mouth to collect data on your molars. Instead, it relates to how Google allocates capital.
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.
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.
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. Restaurateurs must also face an unpredictable customer base, as well as significant competition and substitutes.
History is ripe with hucksters. Investors were reminded of this again this month when stock market darling Gowex declared bankruptcy.
Narrow rules have a cost. Although there is value in the clarity of rule, process and position, a system must also be flexible.
Just how important is a common language to investing? While some investors view it as the sort of soft, fluffy stuff best left to liberal arts majors, empirically—and in our experience— it is an essential feature of high performing investment teams.
A few weeks ago, I was introduced to Google’s Toothbrush Test. Contrary to the images that the name inspires, this test does not involve sticking a web-enabled toothbrush into your mouth to collect data on your molars. Instead, it relates to how Google allocates capital.
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.
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.
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. Restaurateurs must also face an unpredictable customer base, as well as significant competition and substitutes.
History is ripe with hucksters. Investors were reminded of this again this month when stock market darling Gowex declared bankruptcy.
Lead Portfolio Manager, Crista Caughlin, on what’s happening in bond markets, a look at inflation and interest rates, and the key scenarios we’re monitoring.
Opportunities and risks we’re seeing in energy, rail, and financials; why we exited Shopify; and a few team learnings.
What DevOps is and why it’s a theme with investment potential.
On building a “global investment franchise” and balancing the trade-offs between creativity, efficiency, and process to build a consistent environment for better investment decisions.
Russia, the potential parallels to Taiwan and China, and macro to micro portfolio considerations in an inflationary environment.
CIO Paul Moroz shares his take on what’s happening in the markets, some of the underlying factors behind recent performance, and a reminder that the wheels of capitalism will continue to turn.
Portfolio Managers Grayson Witcher and Colin Wong share market observations, industries where fundamentals are shifting, and a few recent additions to the portfolio.
Jim Hall (chair, head of our risk management process, and portfolio manager) shares his overall observations on prevailing macroeconomic risks—and the effects on our process and the EAFE large cap portfolio.
How we achieve balance in the portfolio, manage hubris, and have accounted for inflation risk in our investment process.
Chief Investment Officer, Paul Moroz, reflects on notable learnings from 2021 and how time and experience still clarify the most in investing—and life.
Our systematic assessment framework to narrow the probabilities in analysing fast-growing technology companies in an effort to improve our odds of identifying those elusive “holy compounders.”
The major themes of Q4 and a look ahead to 2022.
Lead Portfolio Manager, Crista Caughlin, on what’s happening in bond markets, a look at inflation and interest rates, and the key scenarios we’re monitoring.
Opportunities and risks we’re seeing in energy, rail, and financials; why we exited Shopify; and a few team learnings.
What DevOps is and why it’s a theme with investment potential.
On building a “global investment franchise” and balancing the trade-offs between creativity, efficiency, and process to build a consistent environment for better investment decisions.
Russia, the potential parallels to Taiwan and China, and macro to micro portfolio considerations in an inflationary environment.
CIO Paul Moroz shares his take on what’s happening in the markets, some of the underlying factors behind recent performance, and a reminder that the wheels of capitalism will continue to turn.
Portfolio Managers Grayson Witcher and Colin Wong share market observations, industries where fundamentals are shifting, and a few recent additions to the portfolio.
Jim Hall (chair, head of our risk management process, and portfolio manager) shares his overall observations on prevailing macroeconomic risks—and the effects on our process and the EAFE large cap portfolio.
How we achieve balance in the portfolio, manage hubris, and have accounted for inflation risk in our investment process.
Chief Investment Officer, Paul Moroz, reflects on notable learnings from 2021 and how time and experience still clarify the most in investing—and life.
Our systematic assessment framework to narrow the probabilities in analysing fast-growing technology companies in an effort to improve our odds of identifying those elusive “holy compounders.”
The major themes of Q4 and a look ahead to 2022.