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.
Many of the old stories surrounding China are becoming—or are—obsolete. New ones are emerging. China’s economy is very different than it used to be, and this shift, as well as some of the trends occurring there, are worthwhile to understand. We’d be wise to pay attention.
To kick off the new year we’ve started with some duly needed market apprehension from Howard Marks; a searing look into big tech; a more nuanced understanding of what motivates Russia; and were reminded how in this new era of storytelling, narratives can, and do, shape the economy.
Below are some of our favourite links from the year—from the inescapability of bias, to cracking cryptocurrencies, pondering the man vs. machine debate, and learning the art of asset allocation—we think it's a good gamut to send off 2017.
‘Twas the week before Christmas
And we’re again filled with cheer
To provide our blog readers
A review of the year:
How many toilets do you have at home? Or rather—let me put it this way: do you have a toilet in your home? For most people reading this, the idea of not having one may sound crazy, but in India, over half of all households do not have the luxuries of a toilet and/or bathing facility.
This month, we learned how Himalayan villagers may have more advanced lighting than New Yorkers; uncovered the surprisingly dark underbelly of online mattress wars; read a balanced bitcoin bulletin; and vicariously indulged in some dinners that made history.
The ski season is officially open and the keeners have taken their first turns. I know our CIO, Jim Hall, is an avid skier so I sat down with him recently to discuss portfolio risk management and how it relates to skiing.
In 1845, Scottish poet and author, William Aytoun, published his satire, How we got up the Glenmutchkin Railway, and how we got out of it. His story focused on the railway stock frenzy that gripped Great Britain, with the aim of bringing awareness to what he saw as madness, “if anyone ha[d] the sense to see it.”
With entrepreneurs like Elon Musk pushing for a solar energy future and electric cars on the horizon, many are seriously questioning oil’s dominance. Are we finally moving into a post-oil age?
As an observational lens, bottleneck-thinking can quickly uncover specific pressure points people may have, such as a holding’s valuation or current management.
This month we learn how to spot grey rhinos instead of black swans; about the impending software apocalypse; the necessity of stress testing; why we need self-awareness; and, that Gord Downie is one of the best things about what it means to be Canadian.
Each day we observe events and instantly associate meaning to them. In other words, we are constantly making inferences about the world—usually unconsciously. Unfortunately, we tend to neglect challenging these inferences or even fool ourselves into thinking that they are wholly evidence based.
Many of the old stories surrounding China are becoming—or are—obsolete. New ones are emerging. China’s economy is very different than it used to be, and this shift, as well as some of the trends occurring there, are worthwhile to understand. We’d be wise to pay attention.
To kick off the new year we’ve started with some duly needed market apprehension from Howard Marks; a searing look into big tech; a more nuanced understanding of what motivates Russia; and were reminded how in this new era of storytelling, narratives can, and do, shape the economy.
Below are some of our favourite links from the year—from the inescapability of bias, to cracking cryptocurrencies, pondering the man vs. machine debate, and learning the art of asset allocation—we think it's a good gamut to send off 2017.
‘Twas the week before Christmas
And we’re again filled with cheer
To provide our blog readers
A review of the year:
How many toilets do you have at home? Or rather—let me put it this way: do you have a toilet in your home? For most people reading this, the idea of not having one may sound crazy, but in India, over half of all households do not have the luxuries of a toilet and/or bathing facility.
This month, we learned how Himalayan villagers may have more advanced lighting than New Yorkers; uncovered the surprisingly dark underbelly of online mattress wars; read a balanced bitcoin bulletin; and vicariously indulged in some dinners that made history.
The ski season is officially open and the keeners have taken their first turns. I know our CIO, Jim Hall, is an avid skier so I sat down with him recently to discuss portfolio risk management and how it relates to skiing.
In 1845, Scottish poet and author, William Aytoun, published his satire, How we got up the Glenmutchkin Railway, and how we got out of it. His story focused on the railway stock frenzy that gripped Great Britain, with the aim of bringing awareness to what he saw as madness, “if anyone ha[d] the sense to see it.”
With entrepreneurs like Elon Musk pushing for a solar energy future and electric cars on the horizon, many are seriously questioning oil’s dominance. Are we finally moving into a post-oil age?
As an observational lens, bottleneck-thinking can quickly uncover specific pressure points people may have, such as a holding’s valuation or current management.
This month we learn how to spot grey rhinos instead of black swans; about the impending software apocalypse; the necessity of stress testing; why we need self-awareness; and, that Gord Downie is one of the best things about what it means to be Canadian.
Each day we observe events and instantly associate meaning to them. In other words, we are constantly making inferences about the world—usually unconsciously. Unfortunately, we tend to neglect challenging these inferences or even fool ourselves into thinking that they are wholly evidence based.
There is arguably another, more robust means of competitive advantage: that of barriers to capacity expansion. And this factors into one of the two main reasons behind limiting our exposure to the utility space.
How the laws of biology and financial ecosystems relate; digital tech takes way longer than we think to become mainstream; humans are creative at forecasting the future; and China is going cashless.
Many of the old stories surrounding China are becoming—or are—obsolete. New ones are emerging. China’s economy is very different than it used to be, and this shift, as well as some of the trends occurring there, are worthwhile to understand. We’d be wise to pay attention.
To kick off the new year we’ve started with some duly needed market apprehension from Howard Marks; a searing look into big tech; a more nuanced understanding of what motivates Russia; and were reminded how in this new era of storytelling, narratives can, and do, shape the economy.
Below are some of our favourite links from the year—from the inescapability of bias, to cracking cryptocurrencies, pondering the man vs. machine debate, and learning the art of asset allocation—we think it's a good gamut to send off 2017.
‘Twas the week before Christmas
And we’re again filled with cheer
To provide our blog readers
A review of the year:
How many toilets do you have at home? Or rather—let me put it this way: do you have a toilet in your home? For most people reading this, the idea of not having one may sound crazy, but in India, over half of all households do not have the luxuries of a toilet and/or bathing facility.
This month, we learned how Himalayan villagers may have more advanced lighting than New Yorkers; uncovered the surprisingly dark underbelly of online mattress wars; read a balanced bitcoin bulletin; and vicariously indulged in some dinners that made history.
The ski season is officially open and the keeners have taken their first turns. I know our CIO, Jim Hall, is an avid skier so I sat down with him recently to discuss portfolio risk management and how it relates to skiing.
In 1845, Scottish poet and author, William Aytoun, published his satire, How we got up the Glenmutchkin Railway, and how we got out of it. His story focused on the railway stock frenzy that gripped Great Britain, with the aim of bringing awareness to what he saw as madness, “if anyone ha[d] the sense to see it.”
With entrepreneurs like Elon Musk pushing for a solar energy future and electric cars on the horizon, many are seriously questioning oil’s dominance. Are we finally moving into a post-oil age?
As an observational lens, bottleneck-thinking can quickly uncover specific pressure points people may have, such as a holding’s valuation or current management.
There is arguably another, more robust means of competitive advantage: that of barriers to capacity expansion. And this factors into one of the two main reasons behind limiting our exposure to the utility space.
How the laws of biology and financial ecosystems relate; digital tech takes way longer than we think to become mainstream; humans are creative at forecasting the future; and China is going cashless.
Many of the old stories surrounding China are becoming—or are—obsolete. New ones are emerging. China’s economy is very different than it used to be, and this shift, as well as some of the trends occurring there, are worthwhile to understand. We’d be wise to pay attention.
To kick off the new year we’ve started with some duly needed market apprehension from Howard Marks; a searing look into big tech; a more nuanced understanding of what motivates Russia; and were reminded how in this new era of storytelling, narratives can, and do, shape the economy.
Below are some of our favourite links from the year—from the inescapability of bias, to cracking cryptocurrencies, pondering the man vs. machine debate, and learning the art of asset allocation—we think it's a good gamut to send off 2017.
‘Twas the week before Christmas
And we’re again filled with cheer
To provide our blog readers
A review of the year:
How many toilets do you have at home? Or rather—let me put it this way: do you have a toilet in your home? For most people reading this, the idea of not having one may sound crazy, but in India, over half of all households do not have the luxuries of a toilet and/or bathing facility.
This month, we learned how Himalayan villagers may have more advanced lighting than New Yorkers; uncovered the surprisingly dark underbelly of online mattress wars; read a balanced bitcoin bulletin; and vicariously indulged in some dinners that made history.
The ski season is officially open and the keeners have taken their first turns. I know our CIO, Jim Hall, is an avid skier so I sat down with him recently to discuss portfolio risk management and how it relates to skiing.
In 1845, Scottish poet and author, William Aytoun, published his satire, How we got up the Glenmutchkin Railway, and how we got out of it. His story focused on the railway stock frenzy that gripped Great Britain, with the aim of bringing awareness to what he saw as madness, “if anyone ha[d] the sense to see it.”
With entrepreneurs like Elon Musk pushing for a solar energy future and electric cars on the horizon, many are seriously questioning oil’s dominance. Are we finally moving into a post-oil age?
As an observational lens, bottleneck-thinking can quickly uncover specific pressure points people may have, such as a holding’s valuation or current management.
Digging into last year’s performance drivers, the current opportunity set, and benefits of resuming boots-on-the-ground research.
The nuanced impacts of inflation to companies’ balance sheets that investors might be missing.
Chief Investment Officer Paul Moroz shares takeaways from the Research team's annual post-mortem discussions.
Portfolio Manager Crista Caughlin walks listeners through the tumultuous bond market experiences of 2022 and outlines three main economic scenarios the team is monitoring for 2023.
Some of the main challenges facing the continent, what we gleaned from visiting over 45 companies, and ESG considerations that are front of mind for major European investment firms.
A review of last quarter, the major themes and takeaways from 2022, and what’s on the horizon for the new year.
What investors can learn from the S-curves of technologies both old and new.
What we think about the newly proposed tax on share buybacks in Canada, a balanced take on the energy theme, and where we’ve trimmed, exited, and added in the portfolio.
How do investors figure out what a company is worth? (Especially in a higher inflationary and interest rate environment?)
A deep dive—right to the atomic level—of how semiconductors work and the potential implications for the industry when Moore’s Law comes to an end.
The deglobalization shift, long-term opportunities we’re seeing in utilities, and what’s interesting about gravel.
The “Swiss cheese” mental model for risk management, why we initiated in Moderna, and how to test if you have a variant perception from the broader market.
Market swings, central bank moves, and rising interest rates. A look at Q3.
Digging into last year’s performance drivers, the current opportunity set, and benefits of resuming boots-on-the-ground research.
The nuanced impacts of inflation to companies’ balance sheets that investors might be missing.
Chief Investment Officer Paul Moroz shares takeaways from the Research team's annual post-mortem discussions.
Portfolio Manager Crista Caughlin walks listeners through the tumultuous bond market experiences of 2022 and outlines three main economic scenarios the team is monitoring for 2023.
Some of the main challenges facing the continent, what we gleaned from visiting over 45 companies, and ESG considerations that are front of mind for major European investment firms.
A review of last quarter, the major themes and takeaways from 2022, and what’s on the horizon for the new year.
What investors can learn from the S-curves of technologies both old and new.
What we think about the newly proposed tax on share buybacks in Canada, a balanced take on the energy theme, and where we’ve trimmed, exited, and added in the portfolio.
How do investors figure out what a company is worth? (Especially in a higher inflationary and interest rate environment?)
A deep dive—right to the atomic level—of how semiconductors work and the potential implications for the industry when Moore’s Law comes to an end.
The deglobalization shift, long-term opportunities we’re seeing in utilities, and what’s interesting about gravel.
The “Swiss cheese” mental model for risk management, why we initiated in Moderna, and how to test if you have a variant perception from the broader market.
Market swings, central bank moves, and rising interest rates. A look at Q3.
