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Our Kids Need Financial Education
Financial December 7, 2021/Financial It’s not easy to raise and educate a kid these days. The world is getting more complex, and we all have to get more sophisticated just to keep up. Unfortunately, I see a big deficit in one of the most important life skills – financial literacy. Basic financial literacy isn’t rocket…
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One Size Does Not Fit All
Financial December 7, 2021/Financial Too many people believe in one-size-fits-all solutions to complex problems. With another election cycle spinning up, leaders and pundits are trying to sell us on solutions. I’m looking for proposals that favor nuanced reality rather than convenient slogans. Take the minimum wage as an example. The federal minimum wage hasn’t risen…
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Social Engineering Has Failed In Housing
Investment December 7, 2021/Investment Social engineering in housing is a failure. America’s top tier cities are increasingly unaffordable for middle class renters. Ironically, the problem seems to be worst in the country’s most famously progressive cities, like New York, San Francisco, and Boston. Clearly, well-intentioned policies like rent control, strict zoning, and affordable housing…
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What Do ‘Board Members’ Do Exactly?
Investment December 7, 2021/Investment Oversight is supposed to be the primary purpose of a board of directors, but I don’t know if that’s really what they’re doing. From Boeing’s terrible blunder with their new 737, to fraud at Wells Fargo, to tragic incompetence at Yahoo (and so many other companies), directors seem to be failing…
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Beware of Charisma
Legal December 7, 2021/Legal These days, it can feel like everybody is trying to sell something. Usually that’s no problem, but a magnetic salesman can tempt people into making bad decisions. Over the years, I have learned to be wary of charismatic personalities who want to steer me into deals that might benefit them…
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Video Games Are Harmful?
Lifestyle December 7, 2021/Lifestyle I’m concerned about kids and video games. I see friends worrying about what their teenage kids do when they are not at home. In my opinion, a bigger concern is what lots of them do when they are home: video games. Video games encourage extreme addictive behavior that can interfere with…
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Have the Regulators Been Captured?
Financial December 7, 2021/Financial I would never want to work as a ‘Regulator’. You oversee companies that you do not work for. Getting only the data and access that the companies agree to share with you. Second guessing industry executives that think they are way smarter than you and make a lot more money.…
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Learning from Warren Buffett’s Mistake
Investment December 7, 2021/Investment Berkshire Hathaway is taking a multibillion dollar write-down on Kraft Heinz, a recent major acquisition. This is surprising for fans of Berkshire’s legendary leader, Warren Buffett. Known as the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett is famous for his fantastically successful use of fundamentals-driven value investing. When the legendary Warren Buffett makes a…
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Many Companies Are Ignoring a Big Risk
Investment December 7, 2021/Investment Long term investing is all about risk assessment. Many companies, particularly public ones, are overlooking something important. Risks of a changing climate may be altering the risk profiles of companies physical property and supply chains. More impactful floods, draughts, and hurricanes are different kinds of risk than businesses usually focus on,…
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The College Admissions Debate Misses the Point
Leadership December 7, 2021/Leadership The recent college admissions scandal has clearly touched a nerve. But the story of elites using fraud to give their kids every advantage actually misses the point. Some parents might be trying to cheat their kids into success, but the world doesn’t work that way, and they’re actually doing their kids…
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How Engaged is Your Team?
Leadership December 7, 2021/Leadership Like business owners everywhere, I’m always thinking about how to get great performance out of my team. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of different approaches, but nothing seems to have a higher return on investment than the fundamentals: Hire great people, help them grow, and keep them engaged. Great…
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Is America Ready for Retirement?
Financial December 7, 2021/Financial I’m concerned that whole generations of Americans aren’t preparing for retirement. Defined contribution plans like 401ks and IRAs provide tax incentives to save, but our national savings rate is still way too low. There’s also a legacy defined benefit system from before we invented 401ks – pensions. And the pension system…
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Finding Hidden Gems
Development December 7, 2021/Development Alliance has had a lot of success over the years by finding undervalued properties. In my experience, great assets are sometimes under priced because they have an issue that scares away less experienced investors. Only 2-3 years left on the lease? Great! When the market perceives higher vacancy risk, fewer people…
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Woke Capitalism
Lifestyle December 7, 2021/Lifestyle There’s a recent business trend where companies are making big statements that seem designed to go viral. In today’s highly polarized environment, diving head first into the culture wars is an easy way to win a lot of free publicity. But is it a good business strategy? Only time will tell,…
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Case Study: Creating a Great Property Profile
Investment December 7, 2021/Investment Alliance recently closed out another great deal: $2 million profit and 25% IRR for our investors. This deal highlights some of our team’s great strengths, and I am proud to share the story. We found the medical property up for sale with a few years left on the lease. The tenant…
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