Category: General Investing

Betting on an Inevitable and Overlooked Crisis

It seems as if all the present focus in financial markets is on Europe and “solving” their debt crisis. Debt is by far the biggest problem facing the developed world. What is interesting is that there lurks a far greater crisis on the horizon in my opinion, one that dwarfs

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Capital Intensive Investments, Scavenging Amongst Corpses, And Hating

“You parasitic money-grubbing bastard; I hate people like you!” I was not making myself popular. I was spending some time getting my arms around the state of the kiwi fruit industry, which is centered on New Zealand’s North Island. I had been talking to growers, real estate agents and bankers

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1 Simple Step On How To Become A Better Investor

We’re always wrong. No matter what amount of analysis we do, what level of due diligence we engage in, we are always wrong in some aspect of our vision of what is going to happen. This is a hard and fast fact. It doesn’t matter if it’s the macro view

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Don’t Go Getting Cute with Giant Moves

Most readers will by now be well aware of the cliff that the precious metals stepped off last week. I’ve got a few thoughts related to this. When looking rationally at our private equity portfolio of companies we are funding via PP’s, or in fact any unlisted and illiquid investments,

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Australian and New Zealand Real Estate – Where to?

A quick Q&A regarding my last post. “Jake the truth” mentions that my thinking might be representative of a contrarian indicator. I prefer not to bother myself with who is saying what, why and when, until and unless I’ve reviewed the data first. In this respect I have a number

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Why Not to Buy Your Own Home!

Home ownership is the most popular religion of the 21st century. It’s even more popular than stupidity and that’s saying something. If you wish to become a pariah amongst your fellow natives simply tell them that owning a home is not an investment, then tell them it’s potentially one of

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Ideas are Just a Multiplier of Execution

A good friend of mine met up with Derek Sivers in Singapore earlier this year and instantly turned around and said to me, “Chris you need to meet Derek, he’s completely on your wavelength and you’ll get on well.” In 1998 Derek founded CDBaby.com with $500 and sold the business

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Red Flags to Watch Out For – How to Invest Money Wisely

Investing is as much about finding opportunities, profitable companies, and sound management as it is in avoiding fraudsters, ill-thought business ventures, or any of the other risks that rip investors’ faces off. Incidentally, Frank Partnoy’s books all detail flags that investors should be wary of. They’re also a fun read.

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