When it comes to science, medicine, and investing… few things work better than good rules of thumb. “Eat your vegetables” and “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” may be simplistic. But they are two of the best health guidelines ever uttered. And more recent advice to “walk 15 minutes a day” has now been shown to decrease risks of cancer and diabetes… These simple and easy-to-remember rules bring proven benefits. The same is true for investing. Simple rules of thumb can…
221 million prescriptions… That’s the latest number available for the number of prescriptions written in a single year (2012-2013) for statins. In a little more than a decade, from 2002 to 2013, use of this cholesterol medicine increased 80%. The reason? The American Heart Association lowered the guidelines for “normal” cholesterol numbers. Overnight, millions of Americans suddenly had high cholesterol… and doctors turned to Big Pharma to “fix” the problem. Today, one in four Americans over the age of 40 takes statins. That…
Doc’s note: Legendary investor Warren Buffett loves a good deal. He’s amassed his fortune investing in companies that are easy to understand, the best in their respective industries, and cheap. But as Professor Joel Litman explains, the markets aren’t always predictable. And sometimes investors ignore some of the best values because they don’t have the right information… Stock markets do not always act rationally. Emotions like fear, greed, and excitement can cloud our better judgement of a situation and lead to suboptimal…
When we started thinking about partnering with Joel Litman, I told my colleagues: “I’m closing up shop. I’m going to retire and throw all my money into what he recommends.” I was only half kidding… That’s how good this guy is. I first met Joel more than 10 years ago. We were both in New York at a meeting for the New York Society of Security Analysts – a group founded by the famous teacher and mentor of Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham. Joel stood…