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.



  • China’s control issues

    If recent events in China teach us anything, it is that there is a difference between control and resilience. Historically, when governments try this hard to control markets, the control they seek has already been lost.

    September 9, 2015

  • Don’t fix a ship in a hurricane

    The middle of a hurricane is not the time to fix your ship. Rather, the best time to fortify your ship is long before you let it sail from harbour.

    August 27, 2015


  • Running with pebbles

    Low-cost lessons are gifts from the gods of probability. Given that many lessons in life are learned through pain, low-cost lessons are opportunities to grow without enduring significant hardship.

    August 13, 2015

  • The expert problem

    A better understanding of how and when to utilize experts helps prevent wasting time and money. 

    August 5, 2015

  • Chinese reform: One step forward, two steps back

    Chinese reform is a big deal. Despite being the second largest economy in the world and experiencing decades of impressive growth, China suffers from structural challenges that hamper its future potential.

    July 30, 2015


  • An imperfect signal

    Bondholders have been on quite the ride in the last few months. The year began with yields moving lower in many regions—notably Europe—to the surprise of some investors who just last year thought that rates could only go higher.

    June 15, 2015


  • Curious George

    It’s hard not to love Curious George.  It’s an unfair contest really—here’s a cute little monkey who, with the best of intentions, constantly gets into trouble as he explores the overly-structured world around him!

    May 20, 2015
  • Extra Credit: Why Not Just a “Little” High Yield?

    High yield spreads continue to tighten. As risk premiums fall, and economic and political conditions appear positive for corporates in general, it is tempting to reach for yield in credit markets. As Howard Marks of Oaktree points out, the all-in yield (benchmark yield plus risk premium) on high yield is 7.0% and who doesn’t love a 7.0% return? What could possibly go wrong?

    November 19, 2024

  • Extra Credit – Fallen Angels: Boeing on the Precipice

    When this piece was being written, Boeing had not filed their US$25 billion shelf prospectus and the company was a downgrade candidate to high yield (HY) at both Moody's and S&P which would qualify them as a "Fallen Angel". The term “Fallen Angel” is often paired with its opposite, a “Rising Star”. We decided it would be interesting to highlight the importance and impact that a Fallen Angel has on both the IG market, and, more importantly, the HY or "Junk" bond market. 

    November 7, 2024

  • Elections: Noise or Signal?

    While speculators fuss over the cacophony of political campaigns and election forecasts, savvy investors recognize that the true impact of elections on financial markets is mostly short-term noise irrelevant to long-term financial strategies.

    October 31, 2024

  • Public and Private Credit: Where investors should focus

    Private credit assets have surged to $2-3 trillion USD over the past decade, but investors might benefit from shifting some focus back to public credit, which offers attractive returns, transparency, and liquidity. While both credit types share common features, the current strong tilt towards private credit may overlook the strategic advantages of a well-diversified public credit allocation.

    June 20, 2024

  • The Power of Latent Earnings

    Current profit levels for fast-growing companies might not necessarily be representative of their true earnings power or “latent earnings power.” When it comes to large businesses, we believe this concept may be underappreciated because they are generally assumed to be operating closer to a mature, steady state.   

    March 27, 2024

  • A Case for Investing in U.S. Mid Caps

    The U.S. equity market is the largest and deepest in the world. As such, it has been analyzed in many ways to determine the optimal means of gaining exposure.

    February 14, 2024

  • Pricing Strategies: Upside Capture Versus Downside Protection

    A company’s pricing strategy can help reveal insights into how a company's business model works, its sensitivity to elevated inflation, and why certain pricing strategies work better than others in different operating and economic environments. 

    January 18, 2024




  • The Case for Non-Predictive Decision Making

    In our view, market participants systematically underestimate the importance of vulnerabilities while correspondingly overestimating the importance of triggers. Why?

    April 5, 2023

  • Inflation’s One-Two Punch

    It’s inflation’s second punch that can deliver a blow that investors may not be expecting.

    January 4, 2023

  • Opportunities and Watchpoints: A Deep Dive into Global Credit | EP174

    We discuss key trends and positioning in credit markets with Brian Carney, lead portfolio manager of the Mawer global credit opportunities strategy. We touch on the year’s strong performance driven by tighter spreads, higher yields, and emerging risks such as low risk premiums and the U.S. election. Topics include corporate issuance, fallen angels, and public-private credit convergence. Emphasizing capital preservation, Brian highlights portfolio positioning in high-quality, short-duration securities, such as North American bank bonds, while avoiding high-yield exposure.

    December 3, 2024

  • The “S&P 493”: Managing Risks and Opportunities in the Global Equity Strategy | EP173

    We discuss the global equity strategy with Christian Deckart, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Mawer. Christian stresses managing absolute risk over relative risk for better long-term outcomes and details Mawer’s approach to risk management, focusing on decision-making, portfolio risks, and external factors such as government debt and rising rates. He also discusses adapting to AI trends, preferring companies leveraging AI applications over infrastructure investments. He emphasizes maintaining focus on fundamentals amid evolving global and technological landscapes.

    November 28, 2024

  • Navigating Market Complexities: Insights from the Trading Desk | EP172

    We discuss market insights with two representatives from the trading desk: Rita Tien, who trades the Americas from Toronto, and Peter Dmytruk, who trades Asia from Singapore. Rita and Peter highlight the complexities of trading, emphasizing the importance of regional differences, the role of the trading desk in executing investment decisions, and more. 

    November 26, 2024


  • China in Focus: Traversing the Emerging Markets Landscape | EP170

    Peter Lampert, lead portfolio manager of the International Equity Strategy, discusses the recent Chinese stimulus and its effects on emerging markets. He highlights key long-term risks in China, including weak sentiment, regulatory challenges, and geopolitical tensions, while emphasizing the potential of companies like Tencent and Tencent Music. The conversation also covers Turkey's Bim, a discount retailer thriving amid economic uncertainty. Peter explains how the portfolio's success stems from stock selection, especially with stealth performers like Vietnam’s FPT and Taiwan’s IGS, and the importance of balancing macro risks with company-specific growth potential.

    October 23, 2024

  • Looking Past the Pitfalls: Focusing on Managing Risk in the Balanced Portfolio | EP169

    In this episode, Steven Visscher, lead manager of the balanced strategies, discusses the impact of rising interest rates and inflation on the balanced portfolio in recent years, Mawer’s disciplined and collaborative approach to portfolio construction, and the importance of having a long-term perspective. He spoke about recent changes and additions to the balanced portfolio and provided an update on the performance of the balanced portfolio thus far in 2024.  

    October 17, 2024

  • Quarterly Update | Q3 2024 | EP168

    Portfolio Manager Crista Caughlin discusses the economy and factors that drove markets in the third quarter of 2024.

    October 15, 2024

  • Semiconductors, GLP-1s, and Defense Companies: Powering the International Equity Strategy | EP167

    Peter Lampert, lead portfolio manager of the International Equity Strategy, provides insights on the team’s investment process, the state of the portfolio, and the main drivers that are currently having an outsized impact on performance, namely, semiconductors, obesity medicines, and defense companies. He details his team’s rigorous approach to evaluating management teams from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint, providing an in-depth example of Hitachi. The conversation concludes with a brief discussion of the current macro environment. 

    October 3, 2024

  • The U.S. Equity Landscape: Inflation, Artificial Intelligence, and Elections | EP166

    Grayson Witcher, the lead manager of the U.S. Equity Strategy, discusses the key drivers currently impacting the U.S. economy, including inflation, interest rates, artificial intelligence, and the upcoming presidential election. He emphasizes the importance of diversification and avoiding sharp edges—particularly during an election year.

    September 26, 2024

  • Skyscrapers and Storefronts: Insights on the Commercial Real Estate Market in 2024 | EP165

    Mawer credit analyst Curtis Elkington provides a comprehensive overview of the $50 trillion global commercial real estate market. He covers the current headwinds facing various property sectors, such as pandemic-induced challenges in the office sector and touches on the surprising resilience of the retail segment. Elkington sheds light on the complexities of the commercial mortgage-backed securities market and details the credit analysis process his team uses to evaluate potential investments with examples.

    August 28, 2024


  • Navigating the Canadian Equity Landscape: Dispersion, Energy Transition, and Opportunities | EP163

    In this episode of the podcast, Mark Rutherford, Co-Manager of the Canadian large-cap equity strategy, discusses the current investment landscape in Canada, highlighting the wide dispersion in sector performance, the impact of central bank policies, and the long-term theme of the global energy transition. He also provides insights into insurance and banking sector performance and shares examples of specific portfolio holdings within the Canadian equity strategy.

    July 31, 2024

  • Marbles and Billiards: Navigating the Highs and Lows in Global Equity | EP162

    Portfolio Manager Manar Hassan-Agha discusses how the Global Equity Team navigates an exuberant market environment while staying true to Mawer’s disciplined investment approach. He delves into the potential impacts of emerging trends, namely artificial intelligence (AI), and provides examples of the team’s measured approach to evaluating the hype and sustainability of these trends. 

    July 24, 2024