Quarterly Client Letter: Q1 2024
Therefore, we are prepared for a very broad range of interest rates, from 2% to 8% or even more, with equally wide-ranging economic outcomes — from strong economic growth with moderate inflation (in this case, higher interest rates would result from higher demand for capital) to a recession with inflation; i.e., stagflation. Jamie Dimon, Chairman…
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Stock Review: Fortinet (FTNT)
Stock Review: Fortinet (FTNT) We recently added Fortinet (FTNT) to our model stock portfolio*. FTNT is a leading cybersecurity company based in the U.S. with over 700,000 customers worldwide. In 2023, they generated $1.7 billion of free cash flow on revenues of $5.3 billion. FTNT is characteristic of the businesses that we like to own: They have an incredible…
What Is Money For?
What Is Money For? Shelby Cullom Davis got his start in the stock market in the early 1940’s on the heels of the Great Depression. He bought equities on the cheap at a time when other investors had given up on the stock market and just as the United States emerged as the world’s most…
Death, Taxes, and Identity Theft
Death, Taxes, and Identity Theft Although Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote on the certainty of death and taxes didn’t include the risk of identity theft, it would be fitting in today’s world. Every year, identity thieves attempt to pilfer billions in federal withholdings from unsuspecting individuals. It has become crucial for taxpayers to exercise extra vigilance,…
Quarterly Client Letter: Q4 2023
“I think that a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time.” Charlie Munger, 2017 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Investing in financial markets is a constant education. A year ago, a Bloomberg survey of economists forecasted a 65% probability of recession for 2023. As the year progressed, there were plenty of reasons…
Obsessing Over Interest Rates
Obsessing Over Interest Rates “The theory of interest bears a close resemblance to the theory of prices, of which, in fact, it is a special aspect. The rate of interest expresses a price in the exchange between present and future goods. Just as, in the ordinary theory of prices, the ratio of exchange of any…
You Only Have to Get Rich Once
You Only Have to Get Rich Once Charlie Munger recently appeared on the Acquired Podcast. Needless to say, we are fans of Munger and recommend listening to the full interview. The interviewers asked Charlie what advice he would give to young people today. Charlie was, unsurprisingly, quite modest in his response. He spent considerable time…
Quarterly Client Letter: Q3 2023
Quarterly Client Letter: Q3 2023 A soft landing is a primary objective, and I did not say otherwise. I mean, that’s what we’ve been trying to achieve for all this time. The real point though, is the worst thing we can do is to fail to restore price stability… Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Responding…
Keep It Simple
Keep It Simple “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” -Groucho Marx I was at a dinner this summer with other portfolio managers from wealth management firms in the Denver area to talk about markets and investing. When we were asked if we invest in private markets on behalf…
Medicare Overview 2023
What is Medicare? In our latest publication of Financial Intelligence, we referenced a document called “Medicare Overview and Local Resources 2023”. We are recirculating this Medicare reference guide as a standalone document below. Medicare is health insurance for the following: People 65 or older People under 65 with certain disabilities Learn more about Medicare here:…
Rolling with the Punches
Rolling with the Punches The Federal Reserve has raised the effective Fed Funds rate over the past 18 months from 0% to 5.33%. The 10-year US Treasury Yield just hit a 15-year high around 4.30%. Mortgage rates are back above 7%. Source: YCharts via Peak Asset Management If we had known that this is…
HSA Key Numbers 2024
The IRS recently updated its health savings account “HSA” limits for 2024 as well as the 2024 minimum deductible and maximum out-of-pocket amounts for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). Below is a comparison of the key changes that you should be aware of: What’s changed for 2024? Here are the updated key tax numbers relating…
Quarterly Client Letter: Q2 2023
“Hindsight, the ability to explain the past, gives us the illusion that the world is understandable. It gives us the illusion that the world makes sense, even when it doesn’t make sense. That’s a big deal in producing mistakes in many fields.” -Daniel Kahneman Imagine you are the chief executive of the Finnish tire maker…