Over the years Dad has often shared our thoughts on investing with you through our monthly letters. I am hoping to continue that tradition as Dad eases in to handing off some of his responsibilities so he can begin spending more time outside of the office, as my Mom has been gently and regularly encouraging him to do. He will still write a letter here or there, but you will also see letters from me and Libby throughout the year.

I have often said change is the only certainty in the world of investment management.  The future unfolds in ways that cannot be accounted for over a lifetime.  Long-term goals for saving funds, however, don’t change that often.  You may have short-term goals, like saving for a down payment on a home, funding an education, or building a nest egg.  Or you may be entering the later years of life, where preservation of capital, income, and legacy planning are your primary investment goals.  It is estimated that 10,000 Americans are entering the retirement years each day.  Many have the same goal as the Jeffrey Family.  They have stayed the course throughout the last 45 years and are positioned to meet their goals for the next 45.  I often wonder what my own family would be like if I had not wandered for several years, dragging the family along with me, before settling here in Rock Hill.

Investment results are easily measured on an absolute basis.  Because they are so easily measured, academics, financial advisors, asset allocators, consultants, individuals and a host of others have devoted a lifetime to scrutinizing the results of others. They look to analysts, portfolio managers, the various public and private enterprises, and the markets in an attempt to find a person, some identifiable trait, or a methodology that can be replicated to produce superior returns.  For many, the search continues, while others have ultimately decided that if this skill exists, it is not worth the effort to find it, and they just buy enough differing investments and hope to be in the right place at the right time.

Many times over the past twenty years we have discussed our mentors, those great investors who have influenced our thoughts, opinions, methods, techniques, stock selection and portfolio construction.  We’ve shared the words and writings of Benjamin Graham, John Templeton, Marty Whitman, Bernard Baruch, Philip Fisher and so many others who deserve our thanks. 

Some of us are bigger worriers than others. I worry over a very long list of things that mostly concern my son Carter. He currently has a lot of enthusiasm for cars. Sadly for me though, his most opportunistic hands-on car experiences involve parking lots. I worry a lot for Carter in parking lots, because of cars! I think most days his four-year-old enthusiasm is greater than my old dad chasing muscles. But I compensate for that worry with extra attention and that is the end of it.