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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 15 February 2025

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Noteworthy this week

  • The original mission of USAID failed
  • The RRP is down US$2.5trn
  • Central bank loads up on gold
  • 4 ways to increase value
  • We live in an incredible world

The original mission of USAID failed: A voice of reason in a heated debate. Things can be true simultaneously.

The RRP is down US$2.5trn: The Fed’s Reverse Repo Facility (RRP) is down about US$2.5trn from its peak in December 2022. The US borrows so much to fund deficit spending that the RRP is at a 1,386-day low. Read the thread for more details and interpretation.

Central bank loads up on gold: Nations are buying gold at a record pace.

4 ways to increase value: 1. Revenue; Increase to increase value. 2. Expense; Reduce to increase value. 3. Assets; Reduce to increase value. 4. Risk; Reduce to increase value.

We live in an incredible world: Sometimes, it’s worth reminding yourself how far humanity has come and how incredible technology is.

Join the world’s toughest valuation training

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Weekly market performance

Click here to see more markets and periods.

Chart of the week

Discussed in the Become a Better Investor Community this week

“Please find the above performance chart of the 5 stock strategies and 1 asset allocation strategy you have access to in the community.”

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Podcasts we listened to this week

#377 Expanding A Family Dynasty: Marcus Wallenberg Jr. – Founders Podcast

“Marcus Wallenberg Jr’s impact on Swedish industry was so substantial that during the 1970s, Wallenberg family businesses employed about 40% of Sweden’s industrial workforce and represented 40% of the total worth of the Stockholm stock market.”

Listen to the episode.

Readings this week

Gold Revaluation

“’Money is gold and nothing else,’ observed J.P. Morgan in 1912, meaning nothing else is money. Everything else is credit.”

Download PDF.

Book recommendation

The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant

“The lives and thoughts of the great philosophers, from Plato to Dewey, are brilliantly and succinctly described.”

Get the book on Audible or Kindle.

Audible is great; have you tried it? If not, click here to get 2 books for free.

Memes of the week

New My Worst Investment Ever episodes

Enrich Your Future 24: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things

In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. In this series, they discuss Chapter 24: Why Do Smart People Do Dumb Things?

LEARNING: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Change the criteria you use to select managers.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

Everyone is in favor of improving quality, but what does that mean? In this episode Bill Bellows and Andrew Stotz discuss stories of meeting requirements, missing the mark, and what Dr. Deming said about how to do better.

Listen to Are You in Favor of Improvement of Quality? Misunderstanding Quality (Part 10)

CEVIA Enviro Incorporated (000885 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was same compared to the prior period’s 5th rank. This is average performance compared to 790 large Materials companies worldwide.

Read CEVIA Enviro – World Class Benchmarking

Life Healthcare Group Holdings Limited (LHC SJ): Profitable Growth rank of 8 was same compared to the prior period’s 8th rank. This is below average performance compared to 390 large Health Care companies worldwide.

Read Life Healthcare Group Holdings – World Class Benchmarking

Thaifoods Group Public Company Limited (TFG TB): Profitable Growth rank of 9 was up compared to the prior period’s 10th rank. This is poor performance compared to 550 large Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read Thaifoods Group – World Class Benchmarking

Increased uncertainty drove up Gold. Performance review of our strategies in January 2025 – All Weather Inflation Guard gained 1.6%, All Weather Strategy gained 1.4%, All Weather Alpha Focus gained 3.9%.

Read A. Stotz All Weather Strategies – January 2025

DISCLAIMER: This content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Readers should not consider statements made by the author(s) as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The author(s) cannot be held liable for any actions taken as a result of reading this article.

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