Julie's Blog Posts

There are a lot of people running around out there making a lot of noise and waving their hands, trying to tell you what you should be focusing on as an investor. 

These “hand-wavey'' people talk about China, things like the Reserve Bank, monetary policy, stimulus, asset allocation, cryptocurrency, and shiny objects like silver and gold. It’s an awful lot to keep track of. 

And don’t get me wrong, some of those things actually do matter. It’s not a bad idea to learn about them. 

But one thing is certain: When it comes to investing, nothing matters anywhere near as much as your behavior. 

You can design the greatest portfolio ever created by humankind, and one behavioral mistake a decade could mean you would've been better off in a bank account or stuffing the cash in your mattress. 

So yes, the economy matters, smart portfolio design matters, how much we have in small cap, value, and growth, all those things matter. 

But the thing that matters most is having investments that will allow you to behave. 

In fact, I would argue that even portfolio design only matters to the degree that it influences good behavior. 

Arguing over whether you should have 17.2% or 17.5% in emerging markets might be an interesting debate, but the difference between 17.2 and 17.5 is a misdemeanor when the felony we’re all committing is behaving poorly. 

So next time a “hand-wavey” person shows up in your face telling you all the things you should be doing, just smile, nod, and walk away. 

And remember that none of it matters if you don't know how to behave.

Blog written by Carl Richards from Behaviorgap.com :-) 

When it comes to your inception date with an investment advisor, chance plays a huge role.

The same goes for investment strategies going in or out of favour.  Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of all time, has had multiple, prolonged periods of underperformance. His style was out of favour, but he stuck to it. And once again, he is reaping the rewards of his discipline. Berkshire Hathaway stock is up 18% year to date while the market is down 5%. So too does any investment style go in or out of favour. Ours is no exception.

Keep reading here for a great article about start dates: https://www.firstlinks.com.au/investment-performance-start-date-randomness

• Share markets are at high risk of more downside on fear of further escalation and uncertainty about sanctions/gas supply to Europe.
• The history of crisis events shows a short term hit to markets followed by a rebound over 3 to 12 months.
• Given the difficulty in timing market reactions to geopolitical developments the best approach for most investors is to stick to an appropriate long term investment strategy.

​Read the attached synoposis from Shane Oliver - Chief Economist from AMP .