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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 25 October 2025

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Noteworthy this week

  • The Internet broke
  • Gold sees record price fall
  • Institutional gold demand to remain strong
  • Fundamentally driven return of Mag 7
  • Tough times for active managers

The Internet broke: As Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced downtime, we were reminded of how reliant we are on its cloud infrastructure.

Gold sees record price fall: Gold prices fell -5.7%, marking the largest 1-day drop since April 2013. Such a large move only happens in 1 out of 240,000 days in a “normal” world.

Institutional gold demand to remain strong: 95% of reserve managers expect global central bank gold holdings to rise over the next 12 months, a record high per World Gold Council survey.

Fundamentally driven return of Mag 7: Mag 7 gains have been driven by EPS growth this year, while the remaining S&P 500 has been much more about multiple expansion.

Tough times for active managers: Only 22% of active funds have beaten the market YTD, the worst performance in at least 26 years.

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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

Daniel Kahneman: Algorithms Make Better Decisions Than You – The Knowledge Project Podcast

“We discuss how to think clearly in a world full of noise, the invisible forces that cloud our judgement, and why more information doesn’t equal better thinking. Kahneman also reveals the mental model he discovered at 22 that still guides elite teams today.”

Listen on Apple or Spotify.

Readings this week

Understanding Gold

“Gold has a reputation as a safe-haven asset-useful in times of economic turmoil or inflation. However, perceptions can differ from reality. We examine the investment characteristics of gold and assess its reliability as a hedging asset.”

Read the paper.

Book recommendation

The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life by Morgan Housel

“Can money buy happiness? Yes. Can spending it make you happier? Absolutely. Yet, many of us struggle to unlock its full potential – either by spending on things that don’t bring as much joy as they should, or by avoiding investments that would truly enhance our mental well-being.”

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

Ep812: Dr. Thomas Powell – The One Rule You Must Never Break as an Investor (Even for Friends)

BIO: Thomas J. Powell, founder of The Powell Perspective™, is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and advocate for founders, bringing clarity, strategy, and resilience to leaders building at scale.

STORY: Thomas invested $3.6M in a friend’s cannabis company, where he ignored his own due diligence framework. Because he skipped key governance protections and didn’t document alignment or exit terms, the investment became frustrating, hard to control, and nearly impossible to fix—proving that breaking your own rules is the most expensive mistake.

LEARNING: Never mix friendship and business. Make sure both you and the founder are solving the same problem.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

Superloop Limited (SLC AU): Profitable Growth rank of 6 was up compared to the prior period’s 8th rank. This is below average performance compared to 190 medium Comm. Serv. companies worldwide.

Read Superloop – World Class Benchmarking

Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical Company Limited (002424 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 6 was same compared to the prior period’s 6th rank. This is below average performance compared to 310 medium Health Care companies worldwide.

Read Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical – World Class Benchmarking

Karmarts Public Company Limited (KAMART TB): Profitable Growth rank of 2 was up compared to the prior period’s 3rd rank. This is World Class performance compared to 270 small Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read Karmarts – World Class Benchmarking

PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk (AALI IJ): Profitable Growth rank of 4 was up compared to the prior period’s 6th rank. This is above average performance compared to 540 large Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read Astra Agro Lestari – World Class Benchmarking

Golden Agri-Resources Limited (GGR SP): Profitable Growth rank of 7 was up compared to the prior period’s 8th rank. This is below average performance compared to 540 large Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read Golden Agri-Resources – 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.

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