This year saw the passing of two giants of the investment world. The first was Harry Markowitz, who in the 1950s developed a concept now known as Modern Portfolio Theory. Markowitz’s key insight was one that today we view as so fundamental that it’s easy to take it for granted: Markowitz was the [...]
What’s it good for?
Warren Buffett has said that when he’s in his office, he spends about 80% of his time reading—as much as 500 pages each week. And for good reason. One of his mottos is that “knowledge compounds.” Judging by his track record, this approach seems to work. Even in his 90s, Buffett believes there is [...]
The expertise of experts
Does it make sense to heed the advice of experts? This doesn’t seem like a hard question. Intuitively, it seems, the answer should be yes. I certainly listen to my doctor and to many others with specialized expertise. And as a society, we all rely on experts—from civil engineers to airline pilots to [...]
