Beyond the Hype: Using Thematic Investing to Build a Resilient Portfolio
In investing, hype cycles arrive fast, narratives shift faster, and prices can sprint ahead of business reality. That gap between valuation and fundamentals is where many portfolios take on risk they didn’t intend. There’s a way to tap into innovation without turning your plan into a guessing game: pair thematic investing with active management. Instead […]
The 60/40 Portfolio vs the New Retirement Reality
Picture your retirement accounts in 2022. If you followed the traditional “safe” approach with a 60/40 portfolio, you watched your nest egg shrink by 17% as both stocks AND bonds tumbled together. Yet, your financial advisor probably told you this was just temporary turbulence. But here’s what they might not have told you: you’re planning […]
Why ‘Safe Stocks’ Aren’t So Safe Anymore
The traditional notion of investing in “safe stocks”—companies like Nike, Starbucks, Adobe, Target, Intel, Boeing, UnitedHealthcare, Disney, and AT&T—has become outdated. In today’s era defined by relentless innovation and the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence, even these established giants face unprecedented challenges that undermine their stability. Let’s look at some recent performance: Nike experienced a […]
The Innovation Gap: How Active Management Outpaces Index Funds
Index funds transformed investing by offering broad, low-cost market exposure. But their reliance on market-cap weighting means they focus on today’s largest, often mature companies—missing the explosive growth of tomorrow’s innovators. Disruptive innovation arises from smaller, agile firms creating new markets or fundamentally transforming existing ones. These companies typically fly under the radar of index […]
Why U.S. Stocks Dominate—and How You Can Benefit
In the dynamic world of investment, a consistent truth emerges: US stocks have historically been, and continue to be, a powerhouse for wealth creation. While mainstream media and many advisors recommend passive index funds, a deeper dive into the performance and drivers of the US market shows a compelling case for a more focused approach. […]
Concentrated Wisdom: How the Ultra Wealthy Invest
Ever wondered what truly sets successful investors apart? Not just those dabbling in the market, but the titans of finance, the ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals and family offices managing fortunes. You might think their strategies are shrouded in mystery, but some of their most powerful principles are actually straightforward, yet often overlooked. While conventional wisdom praises […]
Sequence of Returns Risk and Beyond Passive Investing
For years, the prevailing wisdom, often championed by most registered investment advisors (RIA), has been to simply buy and hold passive index ETFs, rebalancing occasionally, and hoping for the best. But this approach overlooks a critical, but often unseen, risk: sequence of returns risk. It’s not just about the overall market performance, but the order […]
What Every Pre-Retiree Must Know About Investing Styles in 2025
The mainstream advice in personal finance for years has been that passive investing is the undisputed champion for the average investor. Financial media and best-selling books have beaten the drum for low-cost index funds. For the average investor, the advice makes sense. The strategy is simple, cheap, and has a proven track record of delivering […]
Owning Individual Stocks vs. ETF Baskets: Which is Better?
Picture yourself at the farmer’s market. One vendor sells individual pieces of perfect fruit—each apple polished, each orange carefully selected. Another offers pre-made fruit baskets with a mix of everything. Most people grab the convenient basket, but choosing individual fruits gives you exactly what you want while saving money. This scenario captures one of the […]
Disruptive Tech and Why 2025 Could Be the New 2003 for Investors
AI is the pivotal theme that’s accelerating innovation across sectors such as industrials, healthcare, finance, and technology itself. But today’s investment landscape feels a lot like the early 2000s. After the dot-com bubble burst, uncertainty was high, but the foundational technologies of the internet and Web 2.0 were just beginning. For investors who looked past […]