A small part of my investment portfolio is an index fund tracking “the market”, and apparently I’m not alone.

Over the past few years trillions of dollars have flowed into index funds as people realize highly paid professional money managers seldom beat the market.

Bill Mann, after spending eight years running active funds, explained why that’s a difficult task:

“Fund managers are under pressure to be predictable by showing low tracking error, which essentially means funds have to try to beat their...

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By Chris Reining / 4 Comments

A friend called me up scared. They’ve spent the past 20 years working to pay off student loans, buy a house, raise a family, and so saving for retirement wasn’t a priority. “Where do I start?”

It was a good reminder: it’s easy to forget how confusing and daunting investing is when you’re getting started. Which reminds me of a story about a guy who had $100,000 to invest.

The first thing he did was buy 20 stocks, putting $5,000 into each. But then...

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By Chris Reining / 0 Comments

As a kid in the ’80s and ’90s I remember begging my parents to buy VHS copies of Terminator and Predator. Who didn’t love Arnold Schwarzenegger?

It’s easy to forget he got his start bodybuilding. That it was only after winning seven Mr. Olympia titles he wanted to be an actor, and it was only after becoming a bonafide action-film superstar he wanted to be governor.

I’m thinking nobody has three huge careers because it’s the safe path through life, and so he must have...

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By Chris Reining / 4 Comments

In 2007 I bought shares of Berkshire Hathaway, and so I’ve read every shareholder letter from Warren Buffett, watched the documentary, read the biography. Even made it a point to vacuum up every little scrap of wisdom from sidekick Charlie Munger.

It makes sense then, that you’d attend the annual Berkshire shareholder meeting. Every May thousands of people flock to Omaha, Nebraska, for this so-called “Woodstock for Capitalists.”

A quick check of the actuarial tables —...

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By Chris Reining / 5 Comments

Ralph Wanger was founding manager of the Acorn Fund. At the helm between 1970 and 2003 he averaged returns of 16% versus 12% for the S&P 500. He wasn’t only a great investor, but a witty writer.

He once said the stock market was like a man walking his dog in New York City. The walk was always the same: start at Columbus Circle, stroll through Central Park, and end at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

If you’ve walked a dog you know they...

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By Chris Reining / 1 Comment