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.


  • (Not) boring finds for September 2019

    Our finds this month include short, helpful investing philosophies to keep in mind and on hand; a case for statistical literacy in civic life; the intriguing history of money as a means of trade; and ways to handle our behavioural biases.

    September 25, 2019

  • Avoiding the group of death

    The strength of your competition has an important bearing on your own odds of success. 

    September 18, 2019

  • Mawer's autumn reads 2019

    We thought we’d channel some of that “back to school” enthusiasm and provide a few recommended reads. (Why should kids have all the fun?!) Each selection was hand-picked from our Research team. Happy reading everyone!

    September 11, 2019

  • (Not) boring finds for August 2019

    On the docket this August is another memo from Howard Marks; a guide on the recent yield curve inversion; Jim O’Shaughnessy on the challenges but potential upsides of active investing; and the reminder that investors have more of a time horizon than they think.

    August 28, 2019


  • (Not) boring finds for July 2019

    Piquing our interest this month: why companies seem to be undervalued in Japan; what to do in a falling stock market; how chess computers have developed over time; and some investing wisdom from Wall Street personal finance columnist, Jason Zweig.

    July 31, 2019

  • Mawer’s 2019 summer reads

    Given the extent of voracious readers we have here at Mawer, pulling together a recommended reads post is no easy task!

    July 3, 2019

  • (Not) boring finds for June 2019

    This month we learned that broader lessons from history have more leverage; how the shifts over time in the intangible tech economy are impacting businesses and consumers; that AIs are getting more lifelike and creative; and that it’s important to stop anticipating bad things happening and be more present.

    June 26, 2019

  • A fish doesn’t know it’s surrounded by water: The importance of investing globally

    We have found that many Canadian investors—or any investor, for that matter—can be reluctant to diversify beyond their borders, but portfolios solely invested in Canada might as well be an egg crate on a rickety motorcycle. You might get where you want to go, but there will likely be a lot more risk during the journey. And, for many client situations, this means too much is riding on one bet—with not enough balance.

    June 19, 2019

  • Technical debt

    Over the long-term, the accumulated costs of technical debt can have a financial impact on a company and its shareholders.

    June 5, 2019

  • (Not) boring finds for May 2019

    The need to check and recheck your numbers, a bull market for baby teeth, the lures of personal finance personalities, and how Instagram is becoming the new mall…it was an interesting month.

    May 30, 2019