John Jennings, podcast guest and Chief Strategist and President at The St. Louis Trust Company, recently wrote about why it’s almost impossible to beat the market in his latest piece for Forbes. He details why the skewed pattern of market returns stack the odds against regular investors. Read it here.

Dan Villalon is a true renaissance man, with a deep technical love for, and expertise in, investing, winemaking, and woodworking – specifically surfboards and ukuleles. It’s one thing to understand the basics of a complex and intricate topic, and quite another to be a maker. Not to mention, being able to teach and explain the way Dan does.

During the pandemic, do-it-yourself became almost a cliché. Bread, anyone? Our team was just as guilty of this trend, discovering the liberation that comes from learning how to build on your own. After listening to Dan, we’d argue the source of that liberation comes from deeper understanding and appreciation for how things are made, and for the people who do the making. In this episode, Dan elaborates on how renowned American physicist Richard Feynman changed his life with the quotation “What I cannot create I do not understand.”

More about Dan Villalon

Dan is the Managing Director and Co-Head of Portfolio Solutions Group at AQR Capital Management. In his role, he oversees the team responsible for advising clients on portfolio challenges, developing custom analysis and writing white papers and other research. Dan is also a member of AQR’s Multi-fund Investment Committee, which oversees the design construction and implementation of multi-asset multi-strategy portfolios. Listen below or click here to listen on Apple.

In his recent piece about investor behavior, Wall Street Journal Columnist, Jason Zweig profiles real investors who took the long view in the int first half of 2020. “Markets Bombed, Investors Carried On” reminds us why maintaining self control in a volatile market is key for long term success. Our favorite quotation? Arlyne Willcox said, “My experience in 2008 told me: Stand still, be patient, take baby steps so you don’t overreact but feel like you did something.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. You can check out the rest of the piece here.