The investor Bill Gross, founder of PIMCO, has a few things to say in the Financial Times. He's had a long career in financial markets and
... now is as good a time as any to look back on some of the lessons from my investing career that have served me well.
Alright, exciting—let's get some self-indulging secret sauce from one of investing's greats (#851506). What I often wonder such these self-centered, backward-looking storytellers is whether they reflect something real and true—or just a period effect during America's pre-bitcoin century (#836811).
American capitalism is in relative terms more reminiscent of the wild west than some economies. It allows for risk taking — backstopped of course in many ways by government and central bank policies but flexible enough to promote the modern entrepreneur in the quest for a profit.
OK, fair enough. So far, nothing spicy.
Then he talks about Warren Buffett and risks/benefits of leverage, suggesting that leverage when used right is good: by tapping into long-term capital via insurance companies (basically uncallable money liability #869415), "Buffett has shown that time is a vital third dimension in financial architecture."
all money managers and certainly bond managers have a responsibility that goes beyond the accumulation of assets, the earning of fees, and outperformance of the competition. They lend money to companies, countries and continents, and what they do affects the fortunes and the lives of hundreds of millions if not billions of people.
Uh-hu, okay; not really, but right...
And then the final kicker is a story about his license plate, referring to something in the bond world+subtly hinting to his boss, that others around him interpreted differently:
Experience has shown again and again that it pays me to listen to such views and that people watching is key to financial markets. So as it turns out, one of my most important lessons in seeking to master markets came from a reflection in a petrol station forecourt.
Yeah, some famous people write shit in the echelon of financial journalism that is, um, not fucking good enough.
Ridiculous.
non-paywalled here: https://archive.md/lA14s
(but really, don't bother!)