4 Comments

I really like your continued approach to always question and seek better results. I know I've been lucky over the years, but it's interesting that these new models chose fewer candidates that actually topped your old, closed committee. I'm just a layman investor, (and never trusted a financial advisor), but I have generally done better with fewer stocks, growth-oriented stocks, (which let's be honest, mostly tech) and timing!! I know we're not supposed to time the market, but there have been a couple of obvious times to get out! For perspective, I just turned 70 and have been investing for over 50 years, all solo. I am grateful to have had a "risky" approach that I was always "advised" not to do. We all know that there are a variety of ways to make money in this stock market, but I feel very familiar and comfortable with your new committee's approach. Keep up the great work.

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Tech has been a great place to be, and it will probably continue to over the long run. Thanks John!

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Good morning Doug and HNY, lots of blessings in 2024! I enjoyed eating this note and the exploration with open-source models which continues to reinforce the idea of the pace of disintermediation in the asset management industry, and those who service them. As we have discussed previously, the likes of MSCI and S&P, to cite a couple. Are we evolving to a marketplace of sorts where investors subscribe to in order to design the investment strategies that allow them to achieve their long-term goals? Will this type of innovation, like the one you are pursuing with Intelligent Alpha, continue to put pricing pressure in the asset management industry that is still operating with a generalist-based model which struggles to deliver personalization? What about the size of investor base globally, will it expand further as a result of this type of innovation? I must admit Doug, I feel quite excited and energized about the prospects for the asset management industry and the innovation that we will continue to experience going forward. As you continue to explore open-source models, I wonder if you have heard of CrunchDAO and Numer.ai which have a crowd-source model for alpha generation, expanding the research capacity of asset managers. Happy Sunday!

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HNY to you too! I think that AI will keep putting pricing pressure on asset management. Ultimately customers will pay for alpha if it can be consistent. To the extent AI models show that, it's possible AI stems the decrease in fees. Arguably it could be a turning point for fees. Perhaps even a reason, in some cases, for an increase. I'm not familiar with CrunchDAO but have heard of Numerai. Will check in with both thanks!

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