weekend notes

Hope all goes well… The Fates were three daughters of Zeus and Themis, goddess of divine law and order. I was in Greece, wandering. Clotho brings each of us into existence, spinning the threads of our lives. Her sister, Lachesis, measures thread with her rod, determining the length of our lives, our destinies. I have clung to the belief that free will shapes an indeterminate and evolving future, t

Anecdote: “The best career advice I ever got was from Richard Rainwater,” said the investor, a business builder, iconoclast. “He told me to find where capital needs to go and then make sure to become relevant in that space,” he said. “It’s the only advice I’ve been consistently attached to throughout my career. I’ve been dogmatic about it.” We go back 15-years, and he’d never told me this story, a

Hope all goes well… “Still nosebleed long,” grunted Bulldog, selling a few S&P puts for sport. “Bought more stocks, and now I’m buying bonds. Not as a hedge, they’re both going up,” growled Dawg. “The Baby Boomers are still too nervous about this market, Gaza, Russia, China, Iran. They got trillions sitting in money market funds. But at some point, as stocks rally, these Boomers are going to g

Hope all goes well… Dusted off an anecdote for Memorial Day, written in 2013, on the importance of standing up. Back next Sunday with full wknd notes. All the very best, E Week-in-Review: Mon: Iran’s President Raisi and foreign minister die in helicopter crash – no foul play reported, Israel’s Gantz says he’s leaving war cabinet unless there’s a new Gaza plan, ICC’s chief prosecutor seeking arrest

Anecdote: “In California, there is next to no stigma attached to trying and failing, provided you put everything into succeeding and act ethically,” I explained. “In New York there is a greater reputational cost to failing, and I’m pretty sure that’s because the consequences of failure in finance are often higher,” I said. “In technology, if a new product is lousy, the customers delete the app and

Hope all goes well… “My English not so good,” said Bojan, eager, making eye contact in the rearview. “I learn little each day, I get better.” He had leapt out of the black Mercedes Uber, a rainy Zurich morning, insisting he take my bag. Shook my hand, a joyous gesture, authentic, the strength of Bojan’s grip more mechanic than chauffer. “I from Serbia, work construction for my life, now drive. I m

Anecdote: “The world needs more men who do not have a price at which they can be bought,” read the perfect passage to close his memorial service. “Who do not borrow from integrity to pay for expediency.” Mara and I sat in the pew, honoring the memory of a mentor, advisor, friend, my uncle. “Whose handshake is an ironclad contract.” It was late in life that I came to realize the importance of mento

Hope all goes well… “I did a lot of math,” he said. “I made a lot of money,” continued the pioneer in quantitative investing. “And I gave almost all of it away,” said the founder of Renaissance Technologies. “That’s the story of my life,” said Jim Simons, 1938-2024, R.I.P. Overall: “Be guided by beauty. Just as a great theorem can be very beautiful, a company that’s really working very well, very

Anecdote: “I’m often asked what role international diversification should play in our portfolio,” said the CIO of a well-regarded US plan. “Twenty years ago, EM was really coming online. China, Asia, Brazil. That theme was a no-brainer, but it’s played out. EM has been a dog for a decade.” Chinese nominal GDP has risen 1,064% since it entered the WTO in Dec 2001, yet the Shanghai Composite index h