August 1, 2022

Good morning & happy Monday!  Welcome to August 😊

Using volatility as a measure of risk is nuts. Risk to us is 1) the risk of permanent loss of capital, or 2) the risk of inadequate return.

Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet has described Munger as his closest partner and right-hand man)

As the dog days of summer drag on (good grief it’s hot!!!) and we approach the return to the school year, I would like to share a brief story with you. 

A number of years ago I was attending a funeral.  While I was waiting in line to enter the building and sign the guest book I ran into a friend of mine.  Earlier that day I had seen on Facebook that that day was his anniversary.  I was a bit surprised to see him at the funeral and my conversation with him went something like this: 

Me: “Happy anniversary to you and your wife.  How many years are you celebrating today?” 

Friend: “43 years”

Me: “Wow!  That’s awesome!  43 wonderful years with your wife.”

Friend: “I said 43 years of marriage, not all of them were wonderful.  Most of them were wonderful, but there were a few years in there that I would not describe as wonderful.  It’s probably about 35 wonderful years and about 7 years were we just had to grind through”

At first I was taken a little back by that response, but after a moment of reflection I appreciated his blatant honesty and level of transparency. 

Those of us who are or have been married, I think we can relate.

The journey in marriage is not for the faint of heart, it can sometimes be very challenging.  It’s amazing, but it’s most certainly not easy.  It’s incredibly rewarding, but not without ups & downs.

Kinda’ sounds like investing, huh?

Not for the faint of heart.  Rewarding but challenging.  Ups and downs. 

This is one of those challenging times for us investors.  We are surrounded by negative headlines and 24-hour news cycle tries to fill our brain with catastrophic stories.

But, just like in marriage, we must remind ourselves that this is a long-term marathon. Not a short-term sprint. 

Along the journey please do not hesitate to reach out to me or my team if there is anything we can do to help.

It is an honor and joy to serve you!