Hi, guys.
Cool stuff at the end of a whirlwind period.
Devesh did a really thoughtful analysis of why the Yale-default allocation to international developed - about 18% and passive - has been a really bad idea, and what the data suggests as a healthier exposure along the efficient frontier.
Lynn, in between stints with Habitat for Humanity, asked a simple and useful question: when it comes to equity ETFs, which advisers get it right?
Shadow shared several shout-outs to the board and a bunch of stuff on the industry's eternal churn.
I shared a bit about the FPA Investor Day in Chicago (short version: less cash, more quality, sticky inflation) and, in follow-up, about the FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value fund which continues to offer exposure to high-quality small caps plus nearly unparalleled downside protection.
At some risk to reputation and sanity, I also wrote a letter to my graduates about managing the role of money and desire in their new lives. In general higher ed is pilloried for being leftist / socialist but sometimes the translation of that allegation is "you're criticizing the rich and powerful again! Stop it!" I teach a class that's guilty of that crime: since my college days in the 1970s, there has arisen a profound addiction to possessions. (Hmmm ... the number of outfits we own has tripled?) That obsession is engineered rather than organic. And so I wrote an affectionate letter to the young urging them to shift a bit from spending (six suggestions) to investing (three easy steps!).
Let me know if there's anything in particular you think we should pursue at the (much-reduced) Morningstar conference at the end of the month!
David
