Tag: systematic-investing

Back in 2021, as inflation rates broke out from their long-term range, we discussed a study by the Man Institute about strategies for inflationary times. Now that prices appear to be stabilizing, we can look back and ask, “How did these assets do?”

A common argument used against tactical asset management in favor of more passive approaches is that the market always comes back.

We applaud the optimism. However, we believe building an investment portfolio that assumes the market will always come back is like putting all the chips on black in a game of roulette. It’s also a terrible way for financial advisors to approach risk management in their client portfolios.

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, my family makes a two-hour drive west to the mountains of North Carolina on the hunt for the perfect tree to celebrate the holidays. It is no doubt one of my favorite family traditions. 

Our tree-chopping outing just happens to coincide with the start of one of my other favorite pastimes: finding humor in the financial services industry’s annual predictions season!

At Blueprint Investment Partners, our team loves predictions. Not to make them, but to make fun of them. The idea that the average asset manager, let alone investor, can consistently predict the direction of any market or instrument reliably enough to beat a passive index over a long time period is in a word: cute.

I recently read Howard Marks’ latest memo, “Fewer Losers or More Winners?” and it reinforced in me that this guy is a true trend follower in his own way (even if he doesn’t realize it yet). Marks is widely regarded as one of the most insightful and influential investors in the world, and his memos are read by thousands of professionals and enthusiasts alike. For those who think reading a long-form memo is like hopelessly digging in a sandbox looking for treasure, fear not, I found the treasure for you.

“Good Ideas Can’t Be Scheduled” is the title of a 2019 blog post by Morgan Housel of Collaborative Fund. His point was that deadlines shouldn’t be placed on good ideas, regardless of field, but the execution of good ideas is the opposite.

One of Blueprint Investment Partners’ best “good ideas” presented itself just like that – unscheduled – at a daunting time, during the height of pandemic-fueled market uncertainty of 2020. But we felt it would create clear advantages for financial advisors and their clients, so we got to work executing our plan.