I stand out on the Aptus team for having not played major college basketball, but as an avid fan I can at least contribute to the banter. Complementing the content put out by my playing partners at The Backcourt Report, I periodically share my “Starting Five” posts highlighting the best I can find in the areas of investment management, behavioral finance, and the advisory business. Enjoy, subscribe, share!
- Shaping a Life of Money and Meaning: the perfect summary by Phil Huber to make anyone in our business want to read Brian Portnoy’s journey to “funded contentment” ASAP
- Predictable Elements for an Unpredictable World: a realistic set of expectations for how advisors and their clients can get the most out of their relationship. Quoting Josh Brown “a portfolio approach that doesn’t require being able to predict the unpredictable. This involves rules, diversification and contingency plans”. Yes, more of this and less “here’s where stocks are headed” please.
- The Psychology of Money: My view towards reading this kind of stuff is that if I can commit 15 minutes, and take away one memorable insight, it’s been worth my time. Morgan Housel delivers more insights per 15 minutes than anyone I know; if you haven’t read this I promise you’ll love it. I think the Berkshire Hathaway paragraph is my favorite but there are 10 others right there with it.
- Invisible Asymptotes: Wow. I couldn’t commit the time to read this opus, but any 15 minute section you find will be like nothing you’ve ever read. Start with his definition of the title, “a ceiling that our growth curve would bump its head against if we continued down our current path”. Continue with his declaration of Amazon’s own asymptote(shipping fees), and read to your heart’s content about how his team launched Prime, and the insight he’s taken with him to other tech leaders.
- Win Bigger Than You Lose: my man(and Aptus Founder) JD Gardner sits down with Corey Hoffstein for a fun conversation about his background in the business, unique ways to harness the momentum and value factors, and his mission of improving investor behavior. Corey nailed it with an amazing lineup of practitioners for his first podcast season, and I’m a big enough fan of JD’s vision that I joined Aptus, so this is a heckuva combo for me.
- Data, Decisions, and Basketball with Sam Hinkie: two months old but gets bonus nod as 6th Man of the Year award here, pure fun and excellence for anyone interested in hoops and/or “The Process”. Patrick is the absolute best at getting great guests, asking interesting questions, and letting them talk.
Hope you enjoy this edition of our Starting Five, join the updates here!
