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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 17 May 2025

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Noteworthy this week

  • Socialism sucks
  • 50% drawdowns are common
  • The UST yield challenge
  • Time for Emerging markets?
  • The illusion of choice

Socialism sucks: Capitalism makes people wealthier, and socialism always ends in bitter poverty and misery. Why are young people so fascinated by socialism?

50% drawdowns are common: Chances are that the stock you own will go down 50% at some point in the next five years.

The UST yield challenge: Trump paused tariffs for 90 days, the last time yields were this high. Trade deals have been reached, and yields still won’t fall. It will be costly to refinance debt at these levels.

Time for Emerging markets?: Emerging market equities, excluding China, have broken through a multi-decade resistance. Is it time for Emerging markets to outperform in the next decade?

The illusion of choice: 12 companies own over 550 consumer brands. So, you might face a lot of choices in the supermarket, but actually, there are only 12.

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Weekly market performance

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Chart of the week

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Podcasts we listened to this week

The Hundred Year Pivot Ep. 2 – Neil Howe

“What follows is a timely and thought-provoking conversation on generational theory and the turbulent state of not just the United States, but the entire world today. From rising partisanship and institutional decay to shifting cultural norms around religion, gender, and substance use, Neil unpacks the patterns he sees repeating—and what they might mean for the road ahead.”

Listen on Apple or Spotify.

Readings this week

Exceptional Expectations: U.S. vs. Non-U.S. Equities

“In recent years allocators to global equities have faced the conundrum of how to respond to persistent US outperformance. Some serenely maintained market cap weights despite ever more extreme relative valuations, others pursued the contrarian view implied by yield-based expected returns, and yet others gave up entirely on the rest of the world, as the US seemed so strongly placed to foster technological innovation, earnings growth and investor returns.”

Read the article.

Book recommendation

The Darwinian Trap: The Hidden Evolutionary Forces That Explain Our World (and Threaten Our Future) by Kristian Rönn

“When people talk about today’s biggest challenges—pollution, misinformation, artificial intelligence, inept CEOs, and politicians—they tend to frame the conversation around “bad people” doing “bad things.” But is there more to the story?”

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

Your Profit Problems Are Leadership Problems

You don’t need a new team, just better habits. Your people are probably capable, but they need direction. A weekly rhythm, like Monday priorities, Wednesday short check-ins, and Friday results, builds momentum fast.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Enrich Your Future 32: Trying to Beat the Market Is a Fool’s Errand

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 32: The Twenty-Dollar Bill.

LEARNING: Trade as if the markets are efficient, even though they are not.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

How does “quality” apply in all areas of an organization? In this final episode of the Misunderstanding Quality series, Bill Bellows and host Andrew Stotz discuss lessons from the first twelve episodes, and the big ah-ha moments that happen when we stop limiting our thinking.

Listen to Don’t Be Limited by Quality Management: Misunderstanding Quality (Part 13)

PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk (BRMS IJ): Profitable Growth rank of 7 was same compared to the prior period’s 7th rank. This is below average performance compared to 670 medium Materials companies worldwide.

Read Bumi Resources Minerals – World Class Benchmarking

Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Public Company Limited (BDMS TB): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was down compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is above average performance compared to 350 large Health Care companies worldwide.

Read Bangkok Dusit Medical Services – World Class Benchmarking

Hangzhou Sunrise Technology Company Limited (300360 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was same compared to the prior period’s 1st rank. This is World Class performance compared to 730 medium Info Tech companies worldwide.

Read Hangzhou Sunrise Technology – World Class Benchmarking

Increased uncertainty continued to drive up the Gold price. Performance review of our strategies in April 2025 – All Weather Inflation Guard gained 0.4%, All Weather Strategy lost 0.6%, All Weather Alpha Focus gained 1.0%.

Read A. Stotz All Weather Strategies – April 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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