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Economies are in shambles. Yet, investment markets are racing higher. Was COVID just a blip or could they be reflective of investing during an emergency?Emergencies May Cause Strange Market Behavior was originally published on June 21, 2020 on https://integratinginvestor.com

What to own, how to do so, and when are the most important questions investors face. In this episode, I discuss how a framework of collateral, leverage, and volatility can be used to help answer them.Collateral, Leverage, & Volatility: The What, How, & When To Invest was originally published on May 17, 2020 on https://integratinginvestor.com

Passive investing has eaten active management’s lunch for decades. However, this secular phenomenon might have created an “easy game” from which the astute active manager can (finally) profit. Fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) response could give us a preview.COVID-19 Catalyst For An Easy Game Against Passive Investing was originally published on April 19, 2020 on https://integratinginvestor.com

These are truly remarkable times in the investment markets. The speed, intensity, and ubiquity of this selloff brings just one word to mind: violence. It would be remarkable if it wasn’t so destructive. Sadly, the reactions from our politicians and the public were predictable. The Federal Reserve faithfully and forcefully responded. Despite its unprecedented actions, it seems like they’re “fighting the last war.” This war is not the Great Financial Crisis.COVID-19 Is Not The Last War was originally published on March 22, 2020 on https://integratinginvestor.com

It’s an understatement to call these challenging times for active management. Many traditional investment frameworks simply don’t work as well. Is it truly different this time?As investment yields fall, valuation-based investing becomes more difficult. Employing a commodity-like framework can help one maintain discipline by accepting the cash flow realities. We must speculate on all assets, plain and simple, looking to terminal values for returns. While my acceptance has been slow, commoditizing my investment framework has brought some clarity to these confounding times.Commoditizing My Framework For A New Paradigm was originally published on February 23, 2020 on https://integratinginvestor.com

Have you heard? There’s trouble in the repo markets. The turmoil caught many by surprise, prompting the Federal Reserve (Fed) into emergency action. However, the real surprise is, in my opinion, why this took any of us by surprise to begin with? After all, centralization breed fragility.The Unsurprising Repo Surprise was originally published on January 12, 2020 on https://integratinginvestor.com

I can’t seem to shake this sense that we live in a culture that’s scared. I see a number of signs across the economic, political, and investment landscapes that seem to support this observation. To be sure, this is not universally true on an individual level. However, as a culture we seem to have lost our mojo, our swagger, and the confidence that fuels significant economic advancements.Yet, change is the essence of investing and we’ve never been better equipped to adapt and capitalize from it. Those investors who embrace change will survive and thrive. Those who don’t could perish from this business. What could be scarier than that?Why Are We So Scared was originally published on November 17, 2019 on https://integratinginvestor.com

Negative interest rates are now commonplace in the investment markets and are widely accepted as a policy tool. Pushing deeper into negative territory seems all but a foregone conclusion should economic conditions weaken. No longer is the absurdity and devastation of such policies discussed. That “Time is Money” seems lost on the intellectual elite. There’s no breaking the link between time and money and the desirability for sound currency. These are universal truths. That said, bond math illustrates that trading “rates” in such an absurd environment can be lucrative, at least for the time being. Thus, I find it useful to know both: the absurd and the trading potential. Profitably trading won’t negate the deleterious effects of NIRP, but it can help preserve one’s capital for better, more intellectually sound times.Negative Rates Are Destructive But Profitable was originally published on September 22, 2019 on https://integratinginvestor.com

The global economy is apparently facing a significant problem. Inflation’s gone missing! Central bankers can’t seem to stoke it no matter how deftly they act. This, we’re told, is a problem that is equally as serious as it is perplexing. However, this position puzzles me. What if it’s not inflation that’s lacking, but rather our understanding of it? More importantly, might this disconnect have significant ramifications for investment portfolios?The Opportunity Of Misplaced Inflation was originally published on May 12, 2019 on https://integratinginvestor.com