As investors, we live in very interesting times. It’s a challenging environment that’s complicated by actors like the Federal Reserve, which can move markets like nothing else I’ve ever seen.
In such a crazy environment, smart, independent thinking is priceless. These are some of the independent thinkers I look to for guidance and ideas today.
Lyn Alden
Lyn Alden is my favorite big picture thinker. I think she has an incredibly solid handle on what’s happening in the markets today, why it’s happening and what’s likely to happen next.
She regularly publishes invaluable insight into inflation, the Fed and alternative investments. For example, in her recent piece “Why Gold and Bitcoin Are Popular (An Overview of Bearer Assets)” she notes the following:
There are remarkably few financial assets in the world that you can hold for a long time without trusting a centralized counterparty to hold it for you.
The vast majority of assets, like stocks and bonds and cash accounts, are held by financial institutions on your behalf or rely on centralized databases listing you as an asset owner.
Also see my “Why the Fed Is Bluffing” piece for some insight from Lyn about inflation. I strongly recommend checking out her work.
Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Patrick O’Shaughnessy is the CEO of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management. He runs my favorite investing podcast, Invest Like the Best. If you don’t listen to podcasts, I strongly recommend giving it a try. You can find some truly amazing info that blows mainstream news content out of the water. And Patrick’s show is an excellent place to start.
Guests on the show are always top-notch, and Patrick does a great job of keeping things interesting. Here are some of my favorite recent episodes.
- Marc Andreessen on making the future
- Chris Dixon on the potential of blockchain technology
- Howard Marks on embracing the psychology of investing
- Josh Buckley on identifying legendary startups
Meb Faber
Meb Faber is the co-founder and CIO of Cambria Investment Management. Cambria has a unique lineup of ETFs that I like quite a bit (especially EYLD, the Emerging Shareholder Yield fund).
Meb also runs a great investing podcast called The Meb Faber Show. He brings on some amazing guests who dish great investing insights. Here are some of my favorite recent episodes.
- Jeremy Grantham on the bear stock case, venture capital and more
- Thomas Barton on the difficulty of short selling and potential in biotech
- Dan Morehead on the bull case for crypto
- Maciej Wojtal on investing in Iran
If you’re interested in startup investing, definitely check out Meb’s massive article titled “Journey to 100X.” He shares everything he’s learned by investing in 250 private early-stage companies in that piece.
Lastly, to follow my own insights on investing, the markets and more, you can find me on Twitter here.
Golden Age of Content
We’re living in a pretty amazing time in terms of access to quality information. The internet is truly a remarkable tool for learning.
The information you can access online — mostly for free — is an order of magnitude better than the content on mainstream financial networks.
We’re witnessing an explosion of independent content creators. Countless writers, podcasters, vloggers and more are producing high-quality and informative content. There are going to be some amazing investment opportunities in the companies that are hosting this content. Stay tuned for more on that soon.
Have an excellent weekend, everyone.