Principles – Perpetual Prudence

Why Rich People Are Broke

05/08/202205/08/2022 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Consumption, Lifestyle, Long-term, Principles

A significant proportion of high earners are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Why? In this post we explore some of the reasons for this strange phenomenon.

Personal Finance

Financial Utopia Without Financial Advisers

10/06/202204/07/2022 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Financial Advice, Financial Advisers, FOMO, Long-term, Principles, Return

In an ideal world, everyone would have a financial adviser. But in reality, that’s not possible. The good news is that most people don’t need one.

Investment Philosophy

Why I’m Against Optimisation

03/04/202204/07/2022 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Portfolio Construction, Principles, Return, Statistical Inference

Optimisation is stupid. Trying to build the max-return portfolio, taking on debt, and building the “perfect” personal finance structure are foolish endeavours.

Investment Psychology

The News Is a Waste of Time

06/01/202204/07/2022 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Long-term, Principles, Return

Reading the news is a waste of time. It costs you time and leads to worse performance. Stop it.

The Fundamentals

PPP 4: Focus On the Big Picture

24/05/202104/01/2023 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Big picture, Information, Principles, Return

Focusing on details is largely a waste of time, in fact, it could be harmful. You don’t need to be the best – just don’t lose too badly.

Investment Philosophy

Why We Don’t Know Anything When It Comes to Investing

13/04/202105/07/2022 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Deduction, Epistemology, Induction, Principles, Uncertainty

Retail investing can never really be solved. But we can translate our principles into strategies and tactics to do well.

The Fundamentals

PPP 3: Limit Your Downside

29/03/202104/01/2023 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Bankruptcy risk, Downside, Principles, Upside

Think about return in terms of upside and downside, rather than probabilistic expected return. Limit your downside. Upside takes care of itself.

The Fundamentals

PPP 2: Starting With Risk

03/12/202004/01/2023 Haydn Martin 0 Comments Bankruptcy risk, Fluctuation risk, History, Principles

Before you start worrying about returns, worry about risk. Focus on the potential downsides of your portfolio and the returns will take care of themselves.