When, at 35–40, you buy (or build) a big two- or three-story house, think about who’s going to wash the windows when you’re 70. Or don’t. The windows will still need washing. Your health will be pretty much shot by then, trust me. Better yet, verify it — just look at your parents, like I did a couple days ago. That’s part of personal financial planning too. The first thing I’m always interested in is the cost of ownership (not the purchase price, I’m not a cheapskate). It’s nice to drive your own car. Probably. Maybe not. But you’ll definitely have to maintain it, fuel it, repair it. Or insure the hell out of it. But it’s comfort, prestige. How can you possibly live without a car? Any way you like! There are plenty of forms of transportation, from taxis to your own two feet. When you don’t have a car, turns out you don’t have that many places you need to drive either. Tested. ...

Rare, but it happens. The other day a major media outlet sent me a request about bonds. Seems like my thing — securities. I’ve been in the market since February 2008, you know. Seen some things. Working on the CFA too. They talk about bonds there. I took the request. I write and write, then read what I wrote and think, “nope, this is turning into some kind of nonsense. Not for the media; at least not for media at this level.” ...

One respected gentleman recently bought $7 million worth of shares in Company X. The respected gentleman runs the company and, presumably, knows more about it than all the Wall Street analysts put together. Good sign? Time to buy the stock? Well, it depends. Among other things, I’m a little bothered by the fact that Forbes estimates the respected gentleman’s net worth at about $500 million. Which means the confidence this man, who knows everything about the company, has in it amounts to roughly 7/500 ~ 1.4%. Apparently our respected gentleman has better projects for now. Well, I think I’ll wait too. ...

Driving down the highway. Cruise control at 100 km/h. Road’s empty. I’m sitting there, feet swinging, not a care in the world, just nudging the steering wheel every now and then. And it feels like I’m some kind of snail. Total slow-mo, super-Zen concentration. C-r-a-w-l-i-n-g along the road. Cars coming toward me are m-o-v-i-n-g so slowly. Everyone behind me is crawling too and for some reason nobody passes at, I don’t know, second cosmic velocity. What, nobody in a hurry today? Come on! ...

I keep thinking, how do I (and everyone else) learn not to throw shit at each other? Or… do it less often and a little more delicately, maybe? There’s one celebrated financial adviser among our kind. Every now and then his posts show up in my feed. I read them and think — what is wrong with this guy, honestly?! Troubles at home, maybe? Everyone’s always an asshole and he’s Captain America. ...

Comparing companies by valuation multiples and claiming some are valued more fairly than others is like saying that in Germany, say, the pension is €2 000 a month and in Russia it’s €200, so Germans should give, say, half their pension to Russians so everyone gets €1 000. Because that would be fair! Sure, it would. But who cares? Vladimir Vereshchak — investment advisor How I work → Email · Telegram · LinkedIn ↗ ...

The firemen are searching, The cops are on the beat, Photographers are looking Down every city street. They’ve searched both high and low, But still no one can see That wire to EXANTE From HSBC. Sadly, I can’t boast about flawless work by Western financial institutions — everybody screws up. One side says the money was sent, the other says we received nothing. And it’s been three weeks now. The money is simply gone. It mysteriously dissolved into thin air. ...

Just rewatched “Inception”. 2010, yes, I know. But it’s still a great movie. Still messes with your head. It occurred to me for a moment the whole thing was just a family scene where a husband who brought his mistress home is sorting things out with his wife. But seriously, here’s a thought I had about investing. The market is like a nesting doll too: a cycle inside a cycle that’s inside another cycle, which, in turn, is inside some other cycle. What looks like a decline on a one-minute chart can easily be an uptrend on a daily chart and no trend at all on a monthly one. ...

“Ah, if I’d had your brains 30 years ago,” a retiree today tells me, “I’d be living very differently now.” And you know what the worst part is? There’s nothing much you can change anymore. Your health is shot, your strength isn’t what it used to be. That’s it. It is what it is. Most people in retirement will be forced to watch prices in stores and cut back hard on everything. Today you complain that life is difficult, that there isn’t enough money for the mortgage, the kids, entertainment, and whatever else — retirement will be worse! ...

Here’s a fresh one for you. “Hello, could you please tell me, on Instagram they’re offering investments starting at 10 000 rubles and guaranteeing 150 to 250 percent within 48 hours. They sent me a photo of your certificate. Is this really your company doing this?” I’m genuinely curious – what goes on in people’s heads? Fine, scammers, at least they make money off it. But the people who fall for this – what are they thinking? Are they thinking at all? What in life goes up or down by 250% every 48 hours? Your salary? Body temperature? Rainfall? ...