Value #1
We serve you, our dear reader
We exist to improve the lives of the people who read our work…
That's our raison d'être… our reason for being…
It's why the first filter we apply to every decision we make is "will this benefit our reader?"
If it doesn't, we ditch it immediately...
Value #1 also means we respect our audience, their intelligence and their right to form their own opinions...
We will never present things like they’re absolute truth.
Rather, we show you our facts and ask you to make up your own mind…
Value #2
Radical accountability
In a world of YouTube “gurus” who delete videos that contain forecasts gone wrong, doomsday economists who predict the same crash year after year… and talking heads on TV who will say anything for ratings…
We want to stand out for the opposite reason: by embracing radical accountability…
That’s why we publish our entire track-record of economic forecasts…
And we display an ongoing tally of how those forecasts are doing, so it’s impossible to hide inferior ideas and methods…
It means our work is judged on its merits, not obfuscation and marketing…
If our ideas aren’t producing results, we will cease to exist…
Value #3
A wide-open, discerning mind
Our mind isn’t just open, it’s wide open to ideas all across the spectrum…
If the mainstream dismisses an idea, we get curious…
We’ve found that Arcane Truths are often hidden behind mainstream derision…
At the same time, we’re discerning because most ideas are bad…
Before we consider implementing an idea, it must prove itself with remarkable results in the real world…
Value #4
Results not credentials
We don’t care if an idea is presented by a PhD from Harvard or from a person who learned everything they know from YouTube.
We measure ideas by one metric and one metric only: results in the real world.
If an idea can’t show remarkable, repeatable results – we regard it with heavy suspicion.
Further, we find ideas delivered from a credentialed authority often shut down one’s critical abilities, allowing falsehoods into an unprotected mind.
We stay on guard.
Value #5
The best idea wins (we’re always open to being wrong)
We are constantly testing our ideas in the real world.
If they stop producing results – or we find an idea that produces better results – we will adopt it without hesitation.
This means we’re always open to the idea that we could be wrong... even when it comes to our most deeply held beliefs.
Believing that we could be wrong helps us stay humble and keep an open mind.
Value #6
We think long term
Our investment approach is not about optimizing for results over the next quarter.
Or even over the next year.
We’re interested in making the biggest cumulative gain over a multi-decade timeframe.
This is our north star.
Value #7
We embrace mistakes
Our favourite investor, Stanley Druckenmiller, once said: “Every great money manager I've ever met, all they want to talk about is their mistakes.”
Druck practices what he preaches…
He often shares the story of how he bought the top of the Dotcom bubble (of course, Druck changed his mind quickly enough to short the Nasdaq to make up for his mistake!)
Point is, like our mentor from afar, we try to embrace our mistakes.
When we make one, we welcome it in and give it a cup of tea. We embrace it so we can try to avoid it happening again.
Ultimately, we realize mistakes are unavoidable – but that they also provide the fuel for improved future outcomes.
Value #8
Humility
While our methods allow us to forecast the markets with a good deal of accuracy – we know this is not because of any kind of special ability.
We're not that smart and so the ATS™ is simple to follow.
In fact, many investors use far more complex indicators and models – stuff we have a hard time even understanding.
Our edge comes from being lucky enough to stumble upon the right ideas… and more importantly, the work of the great researchers who originated those ideas so they were there to be found...
We stand on the shoulders of giants.
Value #9
Time is the most valuable resource
Time, not money, is the most valuable resource we all have.
Our financial methods and way of living are about optimizing time for the most important things in life:
Family, friends, great experiences & delicious food…
Value #10
We don’t take ourselves too seriously
We make a point to have fun with the markets, our commentary and our lives.
We aren’t corporate and we don’t wear suits.
We believe that if you take things too seriously, it makes it harder to invest well – and it also makes life a lot more miserable.
So why not have fun?
Values for business and for life
