40 years ago, Charley Ellis published a paper in The Financial Analysts Journal that was decades ahead of its time. He wrote:

“The investment management business (it should be a profession but is not) is built upon a simple and basic belief: Professional money managers can beat the market. That premise appears to be false.”

He’s a legend in the investment world, a hero to Hill Investment Group, and recently participated in a podcast with Bloomberg that we’ve shared below. It’s one of our favorite interviews to date. Please consider listening to this gem of an interview.

https://soundcloud.com/bloombergview/cfa-charley-ellis-masters-in

1. That no one can accurately predict the market:

• in advance,
• consistently,
• or for decades at a time.

2. That trying to pick individual stocks or active managers is a loser’s game. Winners buy the world in bulk at a fair price and let capitalism work its magic.

3. That delegating the activity and attention of my personal investing to someone that knows me:

• is liberating,
• has higher expected returns, and
• frees me to pursue my unique abilities.

4. Investing based on the data and evidence shown in decades of market returns and peer-reviewed academic research beats:

• picking stocks,
• gurus,
• black boxes, and
• Las Vegas.

5. Focusing on the things that matter and that I can control are most important, e.g.:

• asset allocation,
• spending, and
• investment expenses.

6. That managing my investing behavior is MORE important than tracking short-term investment performance.

7. That there will always be an apocalypse du jour, so “taking the long view” reminds me that the multi-decade trend of the global stock market is UP.

The recent volatility in the equity markets provides a great opportunity, or test, for readers of our newsletter. Is your perspective three feet in front of you or is it a longer view? We know the answer, but this month decided to let you hear the familiar refrain from a different voice.

Click here to email us for a piece from one of our favorite industry authors. The copyright on this piece allows only for direct distribution to our clients and other newsletter subscribers, so this will not be made publicly available on our website.