The letter below is also available as a PDF file HERE. January 30, 2026 2025 Annual Letter 2025 was the year of AI, geopolitics, and tariffs—or at least the threat of tariffs. Those three topics have been the main subjects for the first month of 2026 as well. Stock markets Read more
The letter below is also available as a PDF file HERE. February 24, 2025 2024 Annual Letter 2024 felt like 2023. American stock market indices posted strong returns, led by technology, and the bond market posted a small positive return. It also felt a lot like 2021, which was one Read more
Joe was a guest on the Guardians of Finance Podcast. You can find the interview on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or another favorite podcast player.
The letter below is also available as a PDF file HERE. February 20, 2024 2023 Annual Letter 2023 was far different than 2022 in the stock and bond markets. After one of the worst years in history that saw stock and bond markets tumble in 2022, stock market indices soared Read more
In my 2022 Annual Letter, published earlier this month, I referenced a statement that I made in my 2021 Annual Letter: “The returns from stocks and bonds during the next 13 years are likely to be much lower than during the last 13 years. With interest rates close to zero Read more
The letter below is also available as a more-readable PDF file, HERE. 2022 Annual Letter 2022 was that rare year when both stocks and bonds declined—and declined significantly. The S&P 500 fell 18.1%, with dividends included, and the more tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped about 32%. The bond market, using the Bloomberg U.S. Read more
This letter is also available as a PDF, HERE. 2021 Annual Letter “In economics, you always want to ask, ‘And then what?’” —Warren Buffett If on January 1, 2020, someone had told you that the world was about to experience a global pandemic that would close borders and businesses—and continue Read more
This letter is also available as a PDF, HERE. January 26, 2021 2020 Annual Letter “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of Read more
One of Bill Gates’ favorite authors and teachers is Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He’s written 41 books and a polymath on many subjects, especially the areas of science involving energy and the environment. In a Read more
As I was lying in bed this week trying to get over jet lag, I realized that the jet lag “problem” I was having was a lucky problem. Lucky problems are solvable problems. With a little time and effort, the problem goes away, with no lasting effect to think about Read more