Skip to main content

Blog

Investment insights, portfolio strategy, and the thinking behind how we build portfolios.

8 min readInvesting 101Model PortfoliosStrategy

What Is a Model Portfolio? A Plain-English Guide

If you've spent any time researching how to invest, you've probably run into the term "model portfolio." The phrase gets used everywhere. By advisors.

Read more →
6 min readRiskInvesting 101Metrics

Sharpe Ratio vs. Sortino Ratio: Which One Actually Matters?

If you've spent any time looking at portfolio statistics, you've encountered the Sharpe ratio. You've probably also encountered the Sortino ratio.

Read more →
7 min readRiskBehavioral FinanceMetrics

Max Drawdown Explained: The Number Investors Ignore Until It's Too Late

There's a number on every portfolio fact sheet that almost nobody reads carefully.

Read more →
7 min readInvesting 101Critical Reading

How to Read a Portfolio Performance Chart Without Getting Fooled

Almost every investing platform shows you the same chart. A line going up and to the right, with the portfolio in one color and the market in another.

Read more →
7 min readStrategyRebalancingMethodology

Quarterly Rebalancing: Why It Beats Set-and-Forget

There's a popular school of investing that says you should pick a portfolio, hold it forever, and never touch it. Set and forget.

Read more →
6 min readMetricsCritical ReadingInvesting 101

Total Return vs. Price Return: The 1.5% That Adds Up to a Fortune

There's a number that almost everyone ignores when they think about stock market returns. It's not particularly complicated. It's not new.

Read more →
6 min readInvesting 101Critical Reading

Why $10,000 Is the Right Way to Show Long-Term Returns

If you've ever looked at a portfolio's performance chart, you've probably seen one that says "Growth of $10,000." A line goes up over decades, ending at...

Read more →
6 min readHedge FundsCostsStrategy

Hedge Fund Fees Are 2 and 20. Ours Are Different.

The standard hedge fund fee structure is two and twenty.

Read more →
7 min readStrategyMethodologyInvesting 101

Concentration vs. Diversification: When 20 Stocks Is Plenty

There's a well-traveled piece of investment advice: never put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify. Spread risk across many holdings. Buy index funds.

Read more →
6 min readHedge FundsSECStrategy

What Is a 13F Filing? (And Why Smart Investors Read Them)

A 13F filing is a quarterly SEC disclosure where investment managers running over $100M list their long stock holdings. Here's what they tell you, what they hide, and how to use them.

Read more →
6 min readInvesting 101Critical Reading

How to Read a Stock Chart Without Getting Fooled

A stock chart looks simple but hides traps. Here's what to actually look at, what to ignore, and the four mistakes beginners make.

Read more →
5 min readStrategyRiskMethodology

Portfolio Diversification: How Much Is Enough?

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" is half the answer. Here's how diversification actually works, and why 20 stocks can outperform 500.

Read more →
6 min readHedge FundsStrategyHistory

The Best Stock Pickers of All Time (And What They Got Right)

Buffett, Druckenmiller, Klarman, and a dozen others. Who actually has the long-term track record, and what they share in common.

Read more →
6 min readHedge FundsStrategy

How Hedge Funds Actually Make Money (It's Not What You Think)

Hedge funds aren't magic. Here's how they generate returns, where their edge actually comes from, and why most of it can't be copied.

Read more →
6 min readStrategyRebalancingMethodology

What Is Rebalancing? (And Why It Quietly Beats the Market)

Rebalancing forces you to sell high and buy low automatically. Here's what it is, when to do it, and the math that makes it work.

Read more →
6 min readInvesting 101CostsCritical Reading

How to Evaluate a Financial Advisor (Without Getting Sold)

Most "advisors" are salespeople. Here's how to tell the difference, what questions to ask, and what to walk away from.

Read more →
6 min readInvesting 101CostsStrategy

Index Fund vs Active Management: The Honest Answer

Index funds beat most active managers. But "most" isn't "all," and the math has nuance. Here's the honest breakdown.

Read more →
5 min readInvesting 101Metrics

What Is a Benchmark? (And Why the Wrong One Will Mislead You)

A benchmark is the yardstick you measure a portfolio against. Picking the wrong one makes any strategy look better or worse than it really is.

Read more →
7 min readStrategyHedge FundsInvesting 101

How Hedge Funds Decide What to Buy (and Sell)

There's a romantic version of how hedge funds operate.

Read more →
6 min readStrategyCritical Reading

How to Read an Annual Report (Without a Finance Degree)

A 200-page 10-K is intimidating. Here's the 30 minutes of it that actually matter, and what to skip.

Read more →
7 min readStrategyGetting StartedInvesting 101

How to Invest Like the World's Best Stock Pickers (Without Being One)

The world's best stock pickers already do the work of filtering thousands of opportunities down to a few. Their research is public. Almost nobody uses it correctly.

Read more →