Due Diligence The SPAC Fad Posted on October 20, 2020 By Matt SPACs are having (another) moment. SPAC stands for Special Purpose Acquisition Company. Often referred to as “blank-check” companies, a SPAC is initially just a management team. The team raises funds via IPO. Investors bet that the team will buy a private business and make it more valuable. Usually, the team… Read more
Can’t Trust’em Posted on September 18, 2018 By Matt It pays to be skeptical of financial product pitches. Investments that are sold rather than bought are often inferior and loaded with fees. Marketing (even for good funds) is filled with cherry-picked data, but that’s the job of the marketing folks – make the product look good. However, sometimes a… Read more
Rising Rate Pitch Posted on July 24, 2018 By Matt Rising interest rates have been a market bogeyman for almost a decade. During that time we’ve gotten pitched all sorts of products that claimed to protect against this. They never seemed to do well, mostly because rates never went up! A couple of years ago that changed. The Federal Reserve… Read more
Due Diligence Wrongness and a Strange Animal Posted on August 25, 2017 By Matt Investing is such a strange animal. You can be wrong and still make money. You can be right and still lose money. I have been wrong on high yield bonds for the last couple of years. I didn’t like the energy component of the space. Oil prices were falling due… Read more
Due Diligence No, the Secret Sauce Posted on August 15, 2017 By Matt “I thought you guys had some sort of insider’s edge and that’s how you get returns for your clients’ investments…?” My friend was grilling up burgers and dogs for his kid’s birthday party while picking my brain about investing. He was surprised to find out how vanilla our investment philosophy… Read more
Due Diligence Outsourcing to an Absentee Investment Committee Posted on June 13, 2017 By Matt They say there’s no such thing as a stupid question. They are wrong. Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers. The Let Me Google That For You website is the perfect passive-aggressive answer to many stupid questions. Rather than simply answering the question, LMGTFY provides a link that walks through the… Read more
Due Diligence Posted on May 22, 2017 By Matt When it comes to money manager due diligence, some flags are redder than others. Investment process and expense ratios are important, but making sure your money manager didn’t just settle with the federal regulators for $5 million and get barred from trading by the futures industry FOR LIFE is probably… Read more
Due Diligence Don’t Turn Your Portfolio into the NFL Draft Posted on April 28, 2017April 27, 2017 By Matt The NFL draft reminds me of picking investments. Lots of hype followed by second-guessing every pick. It’s nice to acquire new talent, but the key to investing is to avoid a bust. Don’t Overthink It Leading up to the NFL draft, the experts on ESPN make and revise their mock… Read more
Due Diligence Settling for Average Posted on April 13, 2017 By Matt Settling for Average Capital Group is pushing back hard against the passive investing crowd. They make the case that some basic screens (low expenses, manager investing in their own fund, etc) can reveal good managers. I agree with that. The screens I use at Fairway are kind of hilariously basic… Read more
Due Diligence Walk of Shame Posted on April 11, 2017 By Matt Motivation Most people seem to be operating on the same social frequency. I can see this, but I am unable to take part without tremendous effort that feels insincere. Awkward conversation is my forte. Hoping to improve, I observe and try to understand how people interact with one another. One… Read more