Perspectives

We are surrounded by abundance. We have more convenience, more access, more information, and more choices than any generation before us. Yet many people feel strangely dissatisfied, even anxious that they are falling behind. They are worried that they do not have enough, or convinced that the next purchase will finally bring peace. I wanted to explore this idea and used inspiration from previous perspectives we published.

Do you consider investing as some sort of game? Most games in life whether chess, rugby, cycling have a beginning, a clear rule set, and an end. Someone wins; someone loses. The scoreboard decides. Because the game has a definitive end, decisions can be optimised around beating your opponent before the final whistle.

In this issue I want to illustrate how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could potentially assist us with rudimentary tasks, or provide inspiration. I am not a movie connoisseur, but thought it would be a fun exercise… marrying movie quotes with financial advice – came from the power of a modern AI assistant, Gemini from Google. It is a fun way to illustrate how we could use cutting-edge technology and big data, not only to handle complex analysis, but also to explore new ways to communicate concepts clearly and in a fun way.

Attending the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha was, as always, an inspirational experience. This year, the meeting provided a profound reinforcement of timeless principles and strategic foresight that are central to our investment philosophy.  Here are some of the key takeaways and concepts that resonated most strongly.

Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of life, and nowhere is this more evident than in financial markets. With global economies sending mixed signals and media headlines forecasting turmoil, it’s tempting to feel overwhelmed. Constant uncertainty and misunderstanding with the inability to know what people will do next, is the truth. Robert Greene, an author on strategy once wrote: “The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces.” This causes some to look at the world as one big Excel spreadsheet, ignoring that the world around us is nuanced and often messy.

Do you ever find yourself longing for the “good old days”? Maybe you miss the quieter Sundays when most businesses were closed, or a time when you weren’t constantly reachable by phone. Life felt simpler—less traffic, fewer regulations, and no endless news cycles filling us with worry. Back then, we weren’t glued to our phones, did not worry about financial updates or were bombarded with “can’t-miss” investment opportunities (many of which turn out to be scams!).

Financial services representatives and their intermediaries often bring the same standardised solutions to individuals, regardless of personal differences. This approach is partly due to increased regulation and compliance requirements. However, each of us needs solutions tailored to our specific needs, as we are all unique.

During the 1960’s economist Milton Friedman made a statement that “inflation is always, and everywhere, a monetary phenomenon”. Since then, history has proven him to be correct. Growth in companies’ earnings, the long-term driver of the value of shareholders, is determined in part by economic growth as well as inflation. Along the same vein volatility, that is the ups and downs of economic cycles, is always and everywhere a phenomenon.

Big numbers may baffle you. Consider the following figures such as a million, billion or a trillion. How big are these numbers really? For example: A thousand seconds are roughly 30 minutes, but a million seconds are about 12 days. However, a billion seconds are 31.7 years. Yes, someone who turns 95 has lived 3 billion seconds and slept a 1/3 of that! Now a trillion seconds are 31 688 years! These very large numbers may become ludicrous.

Unfortunately we don’t always realise when we are making a mistake. When it comes to financial planning and investing, we might think we are
smart, but often we are not well informed enough. We really don’t know what we don’t know and perhaps we confirm our own biases.
The investment process is not a solvable problem – there is no magic formula.