The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 30, 2018
In the beginning of 1995 Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, and Oracle, were worth a combined $83 billion. One giant bubble and five years later, they had grown to $1.85 trillion. As a group, these four stocks gained 2150% over this time, or 80% a year. The table below breaks down the combined percentage gain and market cap gain by year. From 1995 until the peak in March 2000, these four added $1.768 trillion in market cap.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 28, 2018
Vertical Leap: What’s Driving Vertical Software Companies achen Thu, 06/28/2018 - 10:28 In the software industry, the big, horizontal “platform” companies tend to attract the lion’s share of attention from investors and the financial media. Firms like Microsoft and Salesforce are household names at this point; other companies like Workday and ServiceNow are less familiar to the average person but quite well known to the investment community.
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Brown Advisory
JUNE 28, 2018
Vertical Leap: What’s Driving Vertical Software Companies. achen. Thu, 06/28/2018 - 10:28. In the software industry, the big, horizontal “platform” companies tend to attract the lion’s share of attention from investors and the financial media. Firms like Microsoft and Salesforce are household names at this point; other companies like Workday and ServiceNow are less familiar to the average person but quite well known to the investment community.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 27, 2018
On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss: Households are long of stocks Robinhood is going for it How many buyers and sellers are needed to create a decent market? Superforecasters A $3 trillion marketplace I've never heard of What to do with inconsistent income Survey says A steady 7% annual return It ain't what you don't know Trust the process TTM versus CAPE Mean reversion in disguise Investors are worried Will you ever be rich?
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Brown Advisory
JUNE 26, 2018
The Arc of the (Bond) Covenants achen Tue, 06/26/2018 - 16:11 The warning caveat emptor , or “buyer beware,” is particularly important to heed when investing in bonds late in the credit cycle. At those moments, issuers are pursuing more aggressive refinancing or acquisitions, underwriters are letting weaker credits slip through the cracks, and investors starved for yield are increasingly willing to hold their noses to outperform.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 26, 2018
The Arc of the (Bond) Covenants. achen. Tue, 06/26/2018 - 16:11. The warning caveat emptor , or “buyer beware,” is particularly important to heed when investing in bonds late in the credit cycle. At those moments, issuers are pursuing more aggressive refinancing or acquisitions, underwriters are letting weaker credits slip through the cracks, and investors starved for yield are increasingly willing to hold their noses to outperform.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 20, 2018
On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss: Howard Marks on investing without people The mother of all credit bubbles Time to not freak out about debt A future without Buffett Will Berkshire eventually get broken up by activists? The two most indebted companies in the world Tech loses its appetite for bonds WeWork is worth quite a bit of money Hindsight bias in dollar-weighted returns Millennials and money (survey) Predicting the World Cup Is Like Trying to Beat the Market Silicon prairie The ri
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 17, 2018
Articles What I thought was a major career failure turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to my career By Blair duQuesnay Learn to love the micro-stakes arena By Tommy Tranfo If things like research department headcount or manager tenure had any predictive value, then you could throw away your Bloomberg terminal and just use LinkedIn By Josh Brown Capital gains is a hell of a drug.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 14, 2018
NOW 2018 Conference: Our Investment Team’s Roundtable Recap achen Thu, 06/14/2018 - 10:27 The NOW conference is always memorable, but this year’s conference included some particularly compelling and provocative ideas. I wanted to make sure we considered those ideas and their implications for the portfolios we manage for our clients, with truly open minds.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 14, 2018
The Fed Meeting: It’s All about Expectations achen Thu, 06/14/2018 - 11:45 On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee concluded its June meeting. There was a lot to digest: Another 25bp rate hike, clearer signals about two more hikes in 2018, a new set of economic projections, and Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference. Here are some of our team’s initial thoughts.
Speaker: Claire Grosjean, Global Finance & Operations Executive
Finance teams are drowning in data—but is it actually helping them spend smarter? Without the right approach, excess spending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities continue to drain profitability. While analytics offers powerful insights, financial intelligence requires more than just numbers—it takes the right blend of automation, strategy, and human expertise.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 14, 2018
NOW 2018 Conference: Our Investment Team’s Roundtable Recap. achen. Thu, 06/14/2018 - 10:27. The NOW conference is always memorable, but this year’s conference included some particularly compelling and provocative ideas. I wanted to make sure we considered those ideas and their implications for the portfolios we manage for our clients, with truly open minds.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 14, 2018
The Fed Meeting: It’s All about Expectations. achen. Thu, 06/14/2018 - 11:45. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee concluded its June meeting. There was a lot to digest: Another 25bp rate hike, clearer signals about two more hikes in 2018, a new set of economic projections, and Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference. Here are some of our team’s initial thoughts.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 13, 2018
Stories Discussed New entrants to the S&P 500 outperformed the index by a median of 17% in the year leading up to their inclusion in the index LGBTQ and Straight millennials My friend, Warren makes mistakes too. Short-termism Breaking news, I'm no longer GODLing. More than half of 401(k) participants invest in a single target-date fund. What college really costs How much money do we need to retire?
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 13, 2018
The Geometry of wealth by my friend Brian Portnoy is “A stoic playbook for navigating money life.” This is the type of book you give to someone you truly care about. Brian is a deep thinker and a beautiful writer. I wanted to share some of my favorite lines and passages in the hope that this inspires you to pick up a copy. “We don’t like to harvest new information but then do nothing with it.
Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 12, 2018
Earnings Guidance: Really Helpful, or a Red Herring? achen Tue, 06/12/2018 - 10:00 Last week, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett dropped an interesting nugget in a joint interview on CNBC, calling for an end to quarterly earnings guidance that, in their view, brings an “unhealthy focus” on short-term profits vs. long-term business success. Dimon and Buffett are both legends in the investment business with well-earned reputations, and they raise an important philosophical discussion.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 12, 2018
Earnings Guidance: Really Helpful, or a Red Herring? achen. Tue, 06/12/2018 - 10:00. Last week, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett dropped an interesting nugget in a joint interview on CNBC, calling for an end to quarterly earnings guidance that, in their view, brings an “unhealthy focus” on short-term profits vs. long-term business success. Dimon and Buffett are both legends in the investment business with well-earned reputations, and they raise an important philosophical discussion.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 11, 2018
Subprime Auto Loans: Should We Be Worried? achen. Mon, 06/11/2018 - 11:42. In recent years, signs of weakness have crept into the leading indicators for the three key consumer finance sectors—mortgages, auto loans and student loans. It’s true that indicators, such as delinquency rates for average consumers, have come off their post-crisis lows. But context is essential for understanding the real story, and whether these data points are a cause for panic, blips on the radar, or something in betwe
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 10, 2018
Articles If I had to write one sentence that is true always and everywhere, it would be this: Smart investors did stupid things again today. By Jason Zweig Not seeing the irony that history is the study of surprises and changes while using it as a guide to the future. By Morgan Housel How did she manage to convince an enormous amount of cool, successful people that she was something she clearly was not?
Speaker: Erroll Amacker
Automation is transforming finance but without strong financial oversight it can introduce more risk than reward. From missed discrepancies to strained vendor relationships, accounts payable automation needs a human touch to deliver lasting value. This session is your playbook to get automation right. We’ll explore how to balance speed with control, boost decision-making through human-machine collaboration, and unlock ROI with fewer errors, stronger fraud prevention, and smoother operations.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 7, 2018
Market Volatility—Italy Edition achen Thu, 06/07/2018 - 08:18 For the past few weeks, Italy’s political situation has rattled investment markets. Investors fear that the nation’s political direction may lead to credit problems in Italy, and/or lead the country to exit the EU. We avoid reacting to “as it happens” news stories, but we need to look at the facts behind any emerging economic scenario and determine the scale and scope of the risk.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 7, 2018
Market Volatility—Italy Edition. achen. Thu, 06/07/2018 - 08:18. For the past few weeks, Italy’s political situation has rattled investment markets. Investors fear that the nation’s political direction may lead to credit problems in Italy, and/or lead the country to exit the EU. We avoid reacting to “as it happens” news stories, but we need to look at the facts behind any emerging economic scenario and determine the scale and scope of the risk.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 6, 2018
On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss: My book, Big Mistakes Why and how value and momentum investing work. Mary Meeker's internet trends Amazon dot toast A hedge fund blow up A Bill Gross hiccup Listen below Charts mentioned Recommendations Big Mistakes: the Best Investors and Their Worst Investments The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos I said I think Andy Samberg is funny.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 5, 2018
Ben and I will be doing our first live Animal Spirits at EBI West in a few weeks. One of the things we'll be discussing is what Finance Twitter might have been like during moments in financial history. The Great Depression, 1987, and the tech bubble. For example. It's going to be a lot of fun, Ben and I are really excited about this. This year there will be a lot more focus on advisors, specifically practice management.
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The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 4, 2018
Fifty years ago today, the S&P 500 closed above 100 for the first time ever. The New York Times ran the following headline on the cover of the business section. The funny thing about going through old news papers is how some things never change. This sentence could be in tomorrow's paper: "Yesterday's upswing, they said, seemed to represent an attempt by the large and small investors to acquire positions in the market 'before it ran away from them.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 3, 2018
Articles Experience is not the same thing as expertise. By Ben Carlson The difference between Value and Momentum lies in where the mistake happens By Jesse Livermore, Chris Meredith, CFA, and Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CFA So, once more I raise my lance, spur on my faithful destrier, and charge, dreaming the impossible dream that this time I’ll be more convincing.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 3, 2018
It's finally here, my book officially comes out this week. The other day I said to my wife, "Wow, I really did it. I wrote a book." She replied, "What's the Netflix password?" Like my wife, you might already be over my book, even if you haven't read it yet. I get it. Congratulations Twitter can get tiresome, even if you're genuinely happy for the person on the receiving end of it.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 30, 2018
Global Leaders Investment Letter - Q2 2018 ajackson Sat, 06/30/2018 - 09:50 Global Leaders Strategy Investment Letter - Q2 2018 With the Global Leaders Strategy having reached its 3 year anniversary, the team reflect here on what they’ve learnt on their journey so far. Download the Letter Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance and you may not get back the amount invested.
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Like being inches from the end zone, many advisors are frustratingly close to their next level of success. You work hard. You put in the hours. But if your closing rate is stuck or your pipeline feels like a revolving door… something has to change. Most advisors are just one small shift away from dramatically increasing their revenue. The difference?
Brown Advisory
JUNE 30, 2018
Global Leaders Investment Letter - Q2 2018. ajackson. Sat, 06/30/2018 - 09:50. Global Leaders Strategy Investment Letter - Q2 2018. With the Global Leaders Strategy having reached its 3 year anniversary, the team reflect here on what they’ve learnt on their journey so far. . . Download the Letter. . . Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance and you may not get back the amount invested.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 19, 2018
Low Correlation in Stocks: A Good Opportunity for Active Managers achen Tue, 06/19/2018 - 09:13 In equity markets, even the best active managers tend to struggle when stocks are all moving in lock step with each other. But when there’s more differentiation in returns across stocks and sectors, there’s more opportunity for managers to generate alpha.
Brown Advisory
JUNE 19, 2018
Low Correlation in Stocks: A Good Opportunity for Active Managers. achen. Tue, 06/19/2018 - 09:13. In equity markets, even the best active managers tend to struggle when stocks are all moving in lock step with each other. But when there’s more differentiation in returns across stocks and sectors, there’s more opportunity for managers to generate alpha.
The Irrelevant Investor
JUNE 11, 2018
Today Josh and I spoke about the outflows at the Magellan fund, which is now 84% smaller than it was at its peak in 1997. This reminds me of a Yogi Berra Quote, "If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them." Magellan has beaten the S&P 500 by a decent margin over the last five years, but it hasn't been enough to stem the tide of money rushing for the exits.
Speaker: Aaron Berson
Managing spend is more than a cost cutting exercise – it's a pathway to smarter decisions that unlock efficiency and drive growth. By understanding and refining the spending process, financial leaders can empower their organizations to achieve more with less. Explore the art of balancing financial control with operational growth. From uncovering hidden inefficiencies to designing workflows that scale your business, we’ll share strategies to align your organization’s spending with its strategic g
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