Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 9 March 2024
Noteworthy this week
- Sh*tcoins are back
- Bonds can be risky, too
- Gold records new ATH
- Go woke, go broke
- Less corruption, higher GDP/per capita
Sh*tcoins are back: Not only has Bitcoin seen massive momentum, but the shit coins, aka meme coins, are back too. Maybe we need higher interest rates?
Top 5 Crypto memecoins by market capitalization:
• Dogecoin: $24.25 billion
• Shiba Inu: $16.31 billion
• Pepe: $3.1 billion
• Bonk: $2.57 billion
• WIF: $1.64 billion— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) March 4, 2024
Bonds can be risky, too: Bonds typically generate lower returns with lower volatility. However, this chart shows that bonds can suffer almost equity-like drawdowns in real terms.
Bonds are just a risky as stocks on a real basis…a lesson many are learning currently… pic.twitter.com/dQSX7niT8Q
— Meb Faber (@MebFaber) March 5, 2024
Gold records new ATH: Gold traded above US$2,160/oz t during the week, beating the previous high set in December 2023.
Nice rally in gold. New all-time highs. There are always multiple factors but I have no doubt a main driver is Biden’s push to steal $300 billion in Treasury notes from Russia. Once Treasuries are unsafe, Euro and Yen notes don’t look any better. Countries are going for gold. pic.twitter.com/9eFCuFxK3U
— Jim Rickards (@JamesGRickards) March 4, 2024
Go woke, go broke: It’s good to see that investors are pulling money out of box-ticking ESG funds. Companies exist to make a profit. Our elected leaders should set the framework in which companies are operating.
RIP ESG
Investors pulled ~$13 billion, or roughly 4% of assets, from publicly traded ESG funds last year.
The ESG movement failed because it lost money & didn’t deliver environmental & social benefits. pic.twitter.com/I7jQKJGsx6
— Brian Gitt (@BrianGitt) March 3, 2024
Less corruption, higher GDP/per capita: It’s an important reminder of why corruption is important to fight. More corrupt countries are poorer, and often, the wealth is more concentrated.
A very telling chart.
Less corruption, more wealth for everybody. pic.twitter.com/uNFbAT6v1f
— Alf (@MacroAlf) March 2, 2024
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Weekly market performance
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Chart of the week
Discussed in the Become a Better Investor Community this week
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Podcasts we listened to this week
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett – CIA Spy: “Leave The USA Before 2030!”, “Why You Shouldn’t Trust Your Gut!”, “I Held The Nuclear Codes Around My Neck” – Andrew Bustamante
“In this conversation Andrew and Steven discuss topics such as, why spy skills work in the business world, how to manipulate people, the ways to take control of your emotions, and why he’s leaving the US before 2030.”
Readings this week
Know Your Enemy
“Whenever someone takes the other side of my trade, I want to put myself in their shoes. Is this a worthwhile opponent with a differentiated view?? Am I stepping into a trap?? Or are they doing something for totally uneconomic reasons?? I need to know my enemy.”
Book recommendation
The Illusion of Choice: 16½ psychological biases that influence what we buy by Richard Shotton
“The Illusion of Choice identifies the 16½ most important psychological biases that everyone in business needs to be aware of today – and shows how any business can take advantage of these to win customers, retain customers and sell more.”
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
Nailed it 🤣 pic.twitter.com/nR8XXqQPNM
— Markets & Mayhem (@Mayhem4Markets) February 29, 2024
“There is Nothing more Permanent than a Temporary Government Program.”
– Milton Friedman pic.twitter.com/LFOGSqwRPu
— Declaration of Memes (@LibertyCappy) March 6, 2024
New My Worst Investment Ever episodes
ISMS 39: Larry Swedroe – Don’t Choose a Fund by Its Descriptive Name
In this episode of Investment Strategy Made Simple (ISMS), Andrew gets into part two of his discussion with Larry Swedroe: Ignorance is Bliss. Today, they discuss two chapters of Larry’s book Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them. In this series, they discuss mistake number 28: Do You Fail to Compare Your Funds to Proper Benchmarks? And mistake 29: Do You Believe Active Management Is a Winner’s Game in Inefficient Markets?
LEARNING: Don’t choose a fund by its name. Active management is highly unlikely to outperform even in inefficient emerging markets.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep776: Lark Davis – Take Your Profits and Run Away
BIO: Lark Davis is the Founder of the weekly crypto newsletter Wealth Mastery, which combines insider insights and in-depth market analysis to offer cryptocurrency investors the best opportunities to grow their wealth, stay ahead of the curve, and avoid costly mistakes.
STORY: Lark invested in the Terra Luna cryptocurrency, which had a famous implosion. The volatility of the crypto market saw him lose all his profits and part of his capital.
LEARNING: Never put your profits into something that could go down. Fully understand all aspects of risk exposure.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Published on Become a Better Investor this week
What’s the difference between education and training? Why is the distinction important? How does the Deming lens offer a new perspective on teacher effectiveness? In this episode, John Dues and host Andrew Stotz talk about why it’s important to go beyond skills training and encourage education for personal growth.
Listen to Go Beyond Skills Training: Deming in Schools Case Study (Part 19)
Galapagos NV (GLPG NA): Profitable Growth rank of 9 was same compared to the prior period’s 9th rank. This is poor performance compared to 410 medium Health Care companies worldwide.
Read Galapagos NV – World Class Benchmarking
Hualan Biological Engineering Incorporated (002007 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was up compared to the prior period’s 4th rank. This is above average performance compared to 410 medium Health Care companies worldwide.
Read Hualan Biological Engineering – World Class Benchmarking
Run Long Construction Company Limited (1808 TT): Profitable Growth rank of 4 was up compared to the prior period’s 9th rank. This is above average performance compared to 1,220 medium Industrials companies worldwide.
Read Run Long Construction – World Class Benchmarking
In February 2024, we published 6 new episodes of the My Worst Investment Ever podcast. Listen to all of them here.
Listen to My Worst Investment Ever February 2024
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.