The outgoing governor, international press, and local mucky-mucks all sat silently as the historical time capsule was opened at the Museum of Fine Arts. Originally placed in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts statehouse by our forefathers, the contents could provide more clues to our colonial past. The crowd was transfixed, what was in the box? The possibilities seemed endless that January, 2015 night
Bostonians are frequently razzed not only for our accents but our lingo as well. Words like packie, spuckie and tonic cause puzzled looks from visitors. In the summer, another local word takes prominence: Jimmies. For those of you that don’t know, “Jimmies” is Beantown’s name for chocolate sprinkles, the bits of candy topping on ice cream cones for added texture. I actually thought all locals use this word, but my research proved otherwise.
We all remember “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” from ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” The host Jim McKay left this tidbit out: many winners were once losers who decided to change course. It’s too bad the average investor doesn’t embrace needed change; he lets a status quo bias dictate his investment decisions.
To explore this topic I turn my attention to someone eminently special to me, Braintree born marathon runner Sean Quigley. The Wicked Smart Investor had the privilege of witnessing his first steps.
It’s normal to feel vulnerable when hiring an investment advisor. You may get a nagging feeling you’re not getting good advice. This pain is easy to avoid; hire someone who acts like a cover band and borrows heavily from the masters.
To explore this suggestion I trudged out to see my buddy Clarkey’s band, The Section 8’s. Frankly, I’m surprised that Clarkey has a band at all since he was one of the principal disruptors of Mr. Binney’s seventh grade music class. But I give Clarkey credit since the last time I sang karaoke the audience was actually throwing wet cocktail napkins at me.
Industries have a life cycle just like humans . Like a person’s childhood, teenage years, adulthood and golden years, industries have distinct life stages. A local example is the Nantucket whaling industry. Let’s review the lifecycle.
1659: Nantucket settled.
1752: Start up stage. Whaling voyages begin. The market for clean burning whale oil is small but growing. Industry profits are negative and large amounts of capital are required to build ships and train mariners.
1760-1789: Growth stage. In this stage capital requirements are still high, but sales grow rapidly and profits are positive.
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