Blog.
A Family Is a Family by Choice
My dad, Dale Sutherland, was born during the American Great Depression. In fact, my grand-mother said about my dad’s birth, “When I went to the bank to get the money for the hospital, the bank was closed.” I still remember that particular sentence from my grandmother, who spoke it directly to me. I remember because I had little one-on-one time with her since I had to share her with a few dozen grandkids all wanting another molasses cookie. It seemed to me Grandma was “A-Okay” with the bank closing—like that was the least of the trouble at that time. I did not find out until later that I was right.
The Commons: How Can I Love You Better?
After the Haiti earthquake, I toured the Port-au-Prince hospital with my wife, Amy, to see a few of the organizations we have supported over the years to make sure we were helping them in ways that foster resilience, self-sufficiency, and non-dependence. The administrator showed us rooms filled with donated supplies, most still boxed or covered in dusty plastic.
Pay for Preschool or Save for College?
Question: I get paid little but love my work, and my partner and I get by. Now we suddenly have become parents to two children under the age of four. (It’s a long story...) The children came with a modest school trust fund, and I want to spend the trust fund over the next few years on early childhood education, better equipping my home for the children, and allowing me to slow down my work schedule and have more time with them.
I Don’t Want to Own “America” Right Now
Question: I don’t want to own “America” right now. I don’t want to profit from killing people, destroying jobs in other countries, and ruining lives through a system that places profits over people and the planet. I have a 401(k) and an IRA filled with mutual funds. I really don’t even care if I make less money by being conscientious. My advisor says he has other clients who are “that way.” I don’t think he gets me. Any advice?
The 4th Industrial Revolution
It’s interesting how our world works. On the one hand, we admire success, yet on the other we often dismiss it. For example, many thought Jeff Bezos’s Amazon would be just another book retailer. Now, he and his company are considered revolutionary and an enormous success. However, as Einstein once said, “It’s all relative!” And Aristotle was known to start his arguments by stating “Let’s define the definitions!”
Thinking About Think...
Successful investing is about making good judgments and then acting on those judgments. We in this industry constantly learn from books, others' stories, observations, and experience. Our brains are wired to place our own experience at the top of the "how we learn" pyramid.
Theories, Diagnoses, and Actions
I miss my book Dictionary of Theories, which rests on a shelf at home. Years ago it sat, loved, on my bedside table. I enjoyed reading it, largely because it helped stretch my brain with quick summaries of theories from all sorts of disciplines, including those far outside the realms of economics and finance.
Becoming Prepared
Question: I have friends who keep gold coins and have food stored up— just in case. I used to laugh. But not anymore. Brexit didn’t make sense. Then India ran out of cash. Now Trump has me worried. Am I being stupid by not being prepared?
Respecting the Three C’s
Over my career, I’ve spoken and written quite a bit on the topics of complexity, connectedness, and change. Respect for these “three C’s” is something that our team at FIM Group regularly discusses as we analyze investments and manage portfolios. I recently circulated a report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, that includes Figure 1, showing major trends and five categories of risks (economic, environmental, societal, geopolitical, and technological) facing the global economy today.
Truthiness, Facts, Opinions, Alternative Facts, Manipulations, and Lies
I remember when I was about 16 years old, my dad, who was an elementary school principal, told me that one of his teachers had remarked that a particular student was “not worth the effort.” And then he said this to me: “Paul, kids are stupid. If you tell them they are smart, they will believe you.”