Tag: investment strategy

We have experienced a benign 2025 so far despite a correction in the stock market and higher volatility. Modest stock allocations and gains in insurance stocks (our single largest industry exposure), gold, and newer fixed income buys have buoyed account values.

As far as investments and what's going on today, I'm still sleeping just fine. I think you should, too. The roadmap laid out in previous letters has been followed. Stock levels are low, and what we have is outperforming overall.

I don’t think anyone expected a quiet start to the new year, but I’m not sure anyone could have predicted the flurry of shocking news stories that have flooded our devices and timelines thus far in 2025.

In his 2011 book Debt: The First 500 Years, anthropologist David Graeber lays out the historical concept of debt, starting with the Sumer, the earliest known civilization, located in historical Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE.

2024 was another good year for stocks overall thanks to continued strength in just a handful of the largest technology and internet companies. The famed “Magnificent Seven” once again comprised the bulk of stocks’ overall returns.

Kawika Shoji and Neil Rose discuss the potential market reactions to a Trump or Harris win on election day.

Major Info Tech earnings announcements this week. Kawika Shoji gets some reactions and thoughts from Neil Rose on the tech sector now and going forward.

Returns this year have been kinder than I would have expected given our rather conservative positioning. Stock allocations have been lower than usual, with little in information technology and internet-related stocks, two areas that have accounted for the lion’s share of the stock market’s returns in recent years.

This week the Federal Reserve cut its short-term interest rate policy by half a percent to 4.75%-5.00%, marking an end to a two-year effort to recoup some of the excesses in Covid stimulus.

Neil Rose and Kawika Shoji share some thoughts on the current market environment. They touch on the election, other macro considerations, and extended trends in stock leadership.

Acknowledging the role of luck is essential, especially when reflecting on our own paths. It’s a reminder that circumstances beyond our control play a significant role in shaping our lives.

Neil Rose gives candid responses to common client questions that Kawika Shoji has received in these past weeks.