The Effective Investor Newsletter

The new Bitcoin ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) now make it possible to get exposure to the cryptocurrency by proxy through funds that are traded like stocks on various US Stock Exchanges. Previously, if you wanted to buy and sell Bitcoin, you had to do it through one of the cryptocurrency exchanges. But just because Bitcoin […]

There are some people who would love it if you threw a surprise birthday party for them. They’d enjoy every aspect of it, from the sudden yell of “Surprise!” to being the center of attention to eating cake with a large group of friends. On the other hand, there are people who think that a

On May 16, 2007, economist Thomas Sargent accomplished something remarkable in the history of graduation speeches. He gave an address that, rather than flattering the graduates as is so typical, gave them sound advice. And it was so brief, the entire speech could be printed on a single sheet of paper.1 Sargent’s commencement speech was

We can thank Julius Caesar for starting the new year on January 1st. In 46 B.C. he instituted a new calendar that would more accurately sync with the annual cycle of the sun. This Julian calendar was used throughout the western world for more than 1600 years, until Pope Gregory XIII replaced it with the

The holidays, especially Christmas, are supposed to be a time of joy and goodwill. But when you’re feeling the pressure to give a “significant” gift, not only are you the opposite of joyful, but that compulsion and the looming deadline can cause you to overspend. It’s one of the areas where emotions and financial behavior

The AP reported that a Euclid, Ohio woman called 911 to report a crime. She had ordered eight pieces of chicken at a KFC drive-thru but the restaurant had given her only four pieces.1 “I want my chicken,” the woman was heard telling a dispatcher. She then requested that law enforcement come to the restaurant

For most investors, 2022 was not a good year. Seemingly, week after week, the stock market was down.1 And to make matters worse, we endured the worst bond market in about 50 years. Meanwhile, the value of people’s portfolios was also being eroded by record inflation. These conditions had many investors wondering if there was

There’s an old business school joke about an entrepreneur who prices his widgets at half the cost of making them. “It’s true I’m losing money on every sale,” he explains, “But I’ll make up for it in volume.” Over the past decade this has seemingly been the business model of a host of tech-enabled companies.

It’s always fun to look through an old newspaper, especially if it was printed more than 50 years ago. On the front page under bold headlines you can read about the biggest concerns of that day. It’s interesting to note how many urgent problems of that era are even thought about today. But even more