Skip to content
Learning that drives better investment decisions

Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 23 September 2023

| |

Noteworthy this week

  • Fed screws the middle class
  • Small caps are getting crushed
  • ECB hikes another 0.25%
  • Chinese real estate is the largest asset class
  • The end of free trade?

Fed screws the middle class: “The problem screws the middle class (inflation). The solution screws the middle class (higher rates). However, both make the rich richer.” Click below to watch the video.

Small caps are getting crushed: US small caps have just hit a 22-year low relative to large caps. This hasn’t only happened in the US. Smaller companies are often where innovation happens, so this could be problematic for the economy in the long term.

ECB hikes another 0.25%: The European Central Bank raised its deposit rate to an all-time high of 4%. Inflation is still high in many EU countries.

Chinese real estate is the largest asset class: Noteworthy about the trouble in Chinese real estate is that it’s estimated to be the largest asset class in the world. Hence, problems there will have impact.

The end of free trade?: Free trade has brought much of the world population out of poverty. In the past five years, trade restrictions have risen massively following protectionistic policies and geopolitical tensions.

Careers in Finance – Live Streaming

Annapurna Chatterjee – September 27, 09:30 (GMT+7/ICT)

Annapurna Chatterjee is a Senior Associate at AWR Lloyd – a specialist strategy and transactions advisory firm focused on Asia and the Middle East. She has experience in various financial products across equities, fixed income, and insurance. Annapurna graduated from the Valuation Master Class Boot Camp in 2022, and that’s how she got introduced to AWR Lloyd, who sponsored that Boot Camp.

Click attend on the LinkedIn event

Yada Karnjanisakorn (Fahyada) – October 3, 16:00 (GMT+7/ICT)

Yada Karnjanisakorn CFP®, aka Fahyada, is a Certified Financial Planner, financial influencer, and the author of “Money Essentials for Jobbers.” She’s also running the popular finance show “Pocket Money” with FINNOMENA.

Click attend on the LinkedIn event

Join the world’s toughest valuation training

Become a Valuation Expert. Valuation Master Class Boot Camp graduates can confidently value any company in the world and possess in-demand industry skills.

Click here to learn more.

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 charts of the 5 stock strategies and 1 asset allocation strategy you have access to in the community..”

Try 1 month of the Become a Better Investor Community for FREE today!
You can cancel at any time. Click here to learn more.

Podcasts we listened to this week

All-In Summit: Ray Dalio on the rise and fall of nations and the changing world order

“Debt, economic policy, war and peace, catastrophic events, and the decline of empires. China, Plato, autocracies, and the changing world order. Ray’s assessment of China’s assessment of the ‘big storm rising.’”

Listen/watch on YouTube.

Readings this week

A Few Things I’m Pretty Sure About

“You don’t have to know exactly what the future holds to know that some people will handle it better than others. Money can bring happiness but it also brings complexity, and complexity can quickly lead to unhappiness.”

Read the blog post.

Book recommendation

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from the Greek myth of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection, either by stretching them or by cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery.”

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

Ep730: Sheryl Garratt – Shove Your Ideas Out There and See What Happens

BIO: Sheryl Garratt is a coach who helps creative professionals do their best work – while also living their best lives. She was a journalist for more than 30 years, the editor of The Face and The Observer magazines, and has published several books, including Adventures In Wonderland, a history of British nightclubs.

STORY: Sheryl’s perfectionism, which she wore as a badge of honor, has made her miss out on great opportunities over the last couple of years.

LEARNING: Shove your ideas out there and see what happens. In business, you should be iterating often.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Ep729: Kim Ades – Slow It Down

BIO: Kim Ades is the Founder of Frame of Mind Coaching™ and Co-Founder of The Journal That Talks Back™. Recognized as a pioneer in leadership coaching and thought mastery, Kim uses her unique philosophy and quirky coaching style to help leaders identify their blind spots and learn to direct their thinking to achieve extraordinary results.

STORY: Kim had partnered with a friend and her ex-husband to start a business, but as her marriage unraveled, the partnership became hard. Kim decided to sell the company to her husband but didn’t take the time to understand the deal. Three years later, Kim learned that she owed the government $300,000 in taxes from the business she’d sold.

LEARNING: When things are very stressful, it’s a good idea to slow down instead of speeding up. Don’t be forced into a decision without understanding all the elements.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

David and Andrew discuss the three types of power that leaders have: authority, knowledge, and persuasion. David also explains where the current style of “command and control” management comes from and what a nearly failed family vacation can tell us about power.

Listen to Unleashing Hidden Powers for Improvement: Role of a Manager in Education (Part 7)

Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited (BA TB): Profitable Growth rank of 8 was up compared to the prior period’s 9th rank. This is below average performance compared to 1,210 medium Industrials companies worldwide.

Read Bangkok Airways – World Class Benchmarking

CITIC Offshore Helicopter Company Limited (000099 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 7 was up compared to the prior period’s 8th rank. This is below average performance compared to 1,210 medium Industrials companies worldwide.

Read CITIC Offshore Helicopter – World Class Benchmarking

Leonardo SpA (LDO MI): Profitable Growth rank of 6 was up compared to the prior period’s 7th rank. This is below average performance compared to 1,460 large Industrials companies worldwide.

Read Leonardo SpA – World Class Benchmarking

PetroChina Company Limited (857 HK): Profitable Growth rank of 7 was same compared to the prior period’s 7th rank. This is below average performance compared to 330 large Energy companies worldwide.

Read PetroChina – World Class Benchmarking

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.

Posted in Newsletter