How Trend Following Handles Market Shocks & Drawdowns
When we travel by air, my wife usually points out that she thinks it would be better if people by windows boarded first; that way, anyone in an aisle or middle seat wouldn’t have to keep standing up. Meanwhile, I think the Southwest Airlines style of pick-any-open-seat is optimal. Our gut feelings were recently rendered…
Read MoreTrend Following: An Exit on the Highway to the Danger Zone
A financial media headline with the word “trend” usually jumps off the page at you when you’re an asset manager, like Blueprint Investment Partners, that attempts to generate alpha through trend following. This happened to me earlier this year when I saw this one: “Why trends are so intoxicating for investors – and dangerous.” I clicked…
Read MoreTrend Following: Weed Control for Portfolios
A powerful motivator for many parents is a desire to have their children’s upbringing to be better than their own. Better schools, a nicer house, more toys, and better vacations are all things many of us wish for our kids to experience – especially if we didn’t have these things in our own childhood. I…
Read MoreRadical Transparency is Good for Business
Celebrating Blueprint Investment Partners’ 10-year milestone late last year gave me an opportunity to reflect on two conflicting realities: One of the areas I reflected on was the topic of radical transparency, something that 10 years ago was uncommon in financial services but today seems to be accepted as good for business – regardless of…
Read MoreInflation Autopsy Report
Back in 2021, as inflation rates broke out from their long-term range, we discussed a study by the Man Institute about strategies for inflationary times. Now that prices appear to be stabilizing, we can look back and ask, “How did these assets do?” In Theory, These Are The Best Strategies for Inflationary Times Commodities: In the…
Read MoreBut The Market Always Comes Back…Right?
A common argument used against tactical asset management in favor of more passive approaches is that the market always comes back. We applaud the optimism. However, we believe building an investment portfolio that assumes the market will always come back is like putting all the chips on black in a game of roulette. It’s also…
Read MoreMeteorologists with 8% Accuracy Would Be Fired
Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, my family makes a two-hour drive west to the mountains of North Carolina on the hunt for the perfect tree to celebrate the holidays. It is no doubt one of my favorite family traditions. Our tree-chopping outing just happens to coincide with the start of one of my…
Read MoreTennis – Hit Winners Or Avoid Losers
I recently read Howard Marks’ latest memo, “Fewer Losers or More Winners?” and it reinforced in me that this guy is a true trend follower in his own way (even if he doesn’t realize it yet). Marks is widely regarded as one of the most insightful and influential investors in the world, and his memos…
Read MoreTilting the Index In Your Favor
“Good Ideas Can’t Be Scheduled” is the title of a 2019 blog post by Morgan Housel of Collaborative Fund. His point was that deadlines shouldn’t be placed on good ideas, regardless of field, but the execution of good ideas is the opposite. One of Blueprint Investment Partners’ best “good ideas” presented itself just like that…
Read MoreWhat Does A Next-Generation Liquid Alt Look Like?
As a kid who played whatever sport was in season, when the weather didn’t cooperate, I brought that passion inside to the latest sports video game. It was routine for me to battle my friends in games such as Madden NFL, NBA 2K, MLB The Show, and FIFA. Even the NHL made an appearance from…
Read More