The so-called “rich people” in my life don’t carry around big bags of money or wear monocles. One thing that sets them apart? How they spend. Our resources actually allow us to live more cheaply and avoid more pitfalls.
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This operation at 228Main.com has not been a one-man band in many, many years. We’re working on making this enterprise more durable, more sustainable—to better serve you for the years and decades to come.
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We’re all about the long term at 228 Main. And we’re interested in companies that are oriented to the long term… like the ones trying to take care of the environment, operating in ways that are sustainable for employees and clients and suppliers, removing barriers to entry—these are all long-term processes.
And in our opinion, we believe companies like this happen to do better, too.
Maybe you’ve heard about ESG investing—the practice of putting money into those investments that address environmental, social, and governance issues.
We’re not interested in fads, but this style is all about the long term.
Any human endeavor will have its flaws, but we’re figuring out how to bring the best qualities of ESG into our work with you.
First, we can keep certain kinds of companies off our buy list. Those businesses that deal in tobacco, alcohol, and gambling, for example, don’t align with many people’s beliefs about individual wellbeing.
Second, we can add certain companies that meet sustainability criteria, like environmental benchmarks or diversity among corporate leadership.
Trying to grow your bucket is always at the heart of our work. But we shouldn’t have to choose between performance and other worthy results. Let us know if ESG goals are a priority for you.
Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks based on the fact that the criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons and, therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.
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Play the audio version of this post below:
Sometimes it’s not life’s big puzzles that floor us.
Sometimes, it’s those thorny little tasks that hang around and finally exhaust us with frustration, maybe filing some paperwork that you’ve never had to do before or canceling an account you haven’t used in two years (but get billed for monthly!).
Too many of us assume that procrastination is driven by laziness or poor priorities. But pros who study this phenomenon suggest that putting tasks off is often a form of avoidance.
Have you ever let a piece of mail sit, not wanting to even find out whether it’s a bill? Or bad news? Or more work than you’ll be able to get done this week anyway? That anxious spiral there is exactly what experts mean by “avoidance.”
A lot of advice encourages structural solutions, liking breaking a job into smaller tasks or blocking time off your schedule to devote to it. If the problem is emotional, however, these rational approaches won’t help us cope. A different perspective might help.
Let past you off the hook. “This has been sitting here for months! What’s wrong with me?” you may hear yourself saying. You know the task could be short and simple, but you may feel dread with all the emotional baggage you’re dragging to it.
The past has already happened: you can’t go back, so embrace this moment as a fresh one. Whatever your next step is, that’s the important one.
Sit with uncertainty. Sometimes we avoid tasks because we feel uncertain. We may be afraid of something new and unfamiliar, or an ambiguous task may have morphed into a giant monster in our minds. Facing and accepting our feelings can be a great way to soften them before moving on.
You ain’t busted: you don’t have to “fix” your feelings.
Gather support. It’s nice to go for help when you need it, though. It could be that asking a few questions from a professional you trust would be enough. If the challenge is primarily emotional, calling a friend to vent may be enough to face the issue, which reminds us…
Remember that you’re not alone. Not only do you have a network of support around you, in all different forms, there’s probably also someone out there who has experienced something similar before.
What’s the lesson? Take (or find!) comfort, and do the thing.
Clients, if we can help you in any way as you’re doing the things, please write or call.
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If you’ve been following along, you know my intent to work to age 92 dates a long way back. Therefore, I wanted a practice that would last that long.
The more we thought about sustainability, the more we realized that mere survival to a certain point in time was not fair to you—nor a sound plan for us. So the goal became building an enterprise that could thrive for decades.
If we automate everything that works better when automated and get human understudies for all the remaining activities, the organization will be more durable. It will work more smoothly day to day, and it will be more likely to last for the years and decades ahead.
The next phase is falling into place. Caitie Leibman has joined the team full-time as Director of Communications. We foresee three main benefits:
These last several years we’ve used digital communications to stay close when personal circumstances turned time and geography into challenges. The digital presence we built proved to be far more valuable to you and to us than we dreamed; it makes sense for Caitie to become involved in the enterprise in this area first.
I’ll still be writing, of course. Caitie, with her degrees and experiences in writing and a firm grasp of the philosophy of our family firm, will be a major resource.
Clients, if you would like to talk about this, or anything else, please email us or call.
On the advice of a speaker at a conference, I am in the process of re-reading Stephen Covey’s classic book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This 1980’s staple of business literature is surprisingly timeless.
One of Covey’s theories is that time management is really self-management. He suggested that all tasks might be categorized according to urgent or not urgent, and important or not important. Those things that are both urgent and important must always be handled: production, emergencies, project deadlines.
But many important things are not urgent:
On any given day, these non-urgent things might be ignored without huge cost. But in the long run, the time we spend on them might be a key indicator of success, health, and happiness. A balance between production (urgent and important) and taking care of productive capacity (important but not urgent) may be a hallmark of sustainable enterprise.
This seems to apply to our personal lives as well as business. (If we are doing it right, we lead integrated lives – being the same person off the job and on the job, anyway.) Many things that give us a chance for a longer, healthier life are important but not urgent.
Working on your plans and planning, whether for retirement or estate planning or whatever, falls into that ‘important but not urgent’ category as well. Easy to put off, not a big cost to ignore for a short time, but with a huge impact on long term outcomes.
Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
In the 21st century, it is possible to be more open about every aspect of business than ever before. Digital communications enable us to describe in real time what we are doing, why, how, and for whom with a level of detail that was not possible in the last century.
We have always had a well-defined investment process. We know what we want to own, and why. Since 2015 we have been able to share insights about our views, thinking, philosophies, strategies, and tactics here on the blog at 228Main.com. Those of you who are regular readers have perhaps gained a good sense of what we are about.
It is time to take it to the next level. We are working to comprehensively document our investment management process, from philosophy to research sources to investment selection methods to portfolio structure to tailoring client fit to trading protocols to client and account review process. We will be writing a book.
As great thinker Morgan Housel wrote, “writing crystallizes ideas in ways thinking by itself will never accomplish.” So we expect to come out of this exercise with a tighter, better-defined set of processes and protocols. No guarantees, of course.
This will take time and effort. What are the other advantages in doing it?
• To provide even greater clarity for you.
• To gain a comprehensive business operating manual.
• To help new associates understand what the enterprise is about.
Bottom line, this is a step toward greater sustainability, one of our major objectives for the years ahead. Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
The more we think about it, the more striking it is. We are talking about the connections between major decisions and strategies in other parts of life, and effective investing.
Lengthening your time horizon enables you to look past normal market ups and downs, and perhaps enjoy long term gains. On the other hand, a short-term focus leaves people with a choice of potentially safer but stagnant accounts, or day-trading. Our experience leads us to believe that playing the long game pays. No guarantees, of course.
Likewise, thinking about where you want to be seven or fourteen or twenty-one years from now gives you a framework that shapes the choices you make day to day. You may be more likely to make progress toward your major goals in life. Not playing the long game may hurt your chances.
Many have had the experience of enjoying some product or service that seemed to be priced at unbelievable bargain levels. When we were young, a wonderful barbecue ribs place opened up nearby. Great food, all you could eat, an unbelievable price. There was nothing else like it. Customers flocked to it—we went back again and again.
For a few months, that is. Until it closed without notice or warning. The proprietor had not been thinking about the long game. He knew it was important to deliver a great experience to large numbers of customers. But he wasn’t paying attention to the need to cover his overhead and make a decent return. A dining room full of happy customers, the short term indicator, was not enough.
As customers, we would have been better off to pay sustainable prices to keep the restauranteur in business. His place might have become one of those beloved institutions that last generations. Instead, we got bargains on good food for a few months—then it was over.
In our business, we often counsel people about investments or insurance they originally purchased from an agent or advisor prior to becoming our client. Often some level of confusion or frustration has crept into their understanding of what they have. We are always happy help clear things up.
But this is an object lesson to us about the importance of being there for you. We are always thinking about the long game for our enterprise, too. Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
We think a lot about how to make things last. It is a key concept for your assets, our relationships, and the securities in which we invest.
But our enterprise here at 228 Main has to endure so we may continue to be of service. We therefore work diligently on its sustainability.
Thinker Morgan Housel wrote about the sources of sustainability in business. Relative to the competition, these attributes provide an enduring competitive advantage:
1. Learn faster.
2. Empathize more with your customers.
3. Communicate more effectively.
4. Be more patient.
These things resonated with us because they represent much of what we strive for. Patience is a prerequisite of successful investing. It is free, but not easy to practice. It also is what lets us be content to work with you at your pace, on your schedule, since we are talking about your money.
You know by now how highly we value effective communication! Listening to you and talking to you in various ways is one of our three core activities. We put a lot of effort into it.
Empathy—understanding what you are going through, where you want to go—is perhaps the key to being able to meet your needs.
We are surprised at how much we are still learning after so many years of experience. In this rapidly changing world, continuous learning is required in order to be able to survive and thrive.
Clients, we are not claiming perfection in any of this. But we are mindful of the things we must do in order to be a reliable partner for you through the years. If you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
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