Blog Archives

Good Intentions and The Lollapalooza Effect

Lollapalooza EffectThe old adage is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. As Ben Graham said, it’s not the bad ideas that do you in, but the good ideas that go too far that can do the most damage. A perfect example of this was the drive for more Americans to own homes,

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Apartments Remain Strong

[UPDATED July 27, 2016] Since 2010 apartments have performed very well across the nation. The following graph from REIS (courtesy of Calculatedriskblog), a real estate research service, shows the trend in vacancy rates for larger apartment communities.

REIS – from 1990 – 2014

Reis Apartment Vacancy Rate Chart

It’s clear from the graph that the market bottomed from an occupancy perspective in 2010.

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Quantum Treasuries in a Quantum State?

Quantum TreasuriesThe discovery of the quantum is one of the great breakthroughs in science. It helped transition our understanding of how natural phenomena work from Newtonian mechanics to quantum physics. In this whacky world of infinitesimally small particles, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle was formulated which postulated that a scientist cannot simultaneously know the position and momentum of a particle because trying to measure either one will affect the results of the other.

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Hamilton, Madison, and Brexit - Part 2

BrexitThis is part two of my blog post regarding Alexander Hamilton as well as James Madison as he is featured prominently this week. It seems particularly fitting to blog about this given the decision by U.K. voters to exit the European Union. Hamilton and Madison believed that factions were the greatest risk to good governance,

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How Has Public Investment Improved Lives and Well Being?

NASA-Public Investment

With this being Memorial Day I thought I would take a slightly different spin to honor this holiday. I, of course, want to thank everyone who has served to help protect our country.

The first people to honor and offer our most sincere form of gratitude is to those in the armed forces who literally putting their lives on the line to defend our country.

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The Banana Story – Learning from a Simple Example

You are probably wondering why the author, business executive, investor Gary Carmell, author of The Philosophical Investor Transforming Wisdom into Wealth is holding a banana!

A lot can be learned from a simple example.

[Video Transcribed]

My book focuses significantly on the powerful intersection between intelligent investing and intelligent living and the importance of having a way of viewing the world that is quite independent and quite authentic.

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China Export Challenges & U.S. Interest Rates

China Export

[Updated – May 4, 2016] As real estate investors, we’re obviously big consumers of capital, particularly debt financing. Given this, it’s important to have a view (hopefully a correct one) regarding interest rates. I look at many indicators to help me gauge where I think rates may be headed.

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My Random Thoughts and Observations This Week

Random-Brussels Attack

Rather than diving into deep philosophical exposition and heavy economics, I thought I would go a different direction this week and share some random thoughts and items that have caught my attention recently.

My 14 Random Thoughts

Garry Shandling

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I Ain't No Senator's Son

SonIt is hard for anyone to argue that one’s parents have not been quite influential over the course of one’s life for good and bad. This is especially true for the father-son relationship. In mythology, the father often represents the duality of growth and destruction (harshness and discipline).

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Are We Now on Recession Watch?

recession watch

The CFA Institute recently polled its members regarding whether the United States will enter into a recession in 2016. 875 members responded and the following table shows the results.

Will the US Experience a Recession in 2016?

Reader Survey Recession

Source: CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief

70% are in the camp that a recession will not take place in 2016.

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