When Odds On was born, we quickly realized that one of the powerful benefits of having a book in hand is it gets our foot in the door at public and professional venues alike. By having opportunities to “teach the teachers” about evidence-based investing, we could spread the word faster through the power of exponential word of mouth.

That’s one reason it was fun and fulfilling to present “The Evolution of Evidence-Based Investing” to a group of attorneys at the century-old, St. Louis law firm Lewis Rice earlier this month. (The awesome view of downtown St. Louis, Arch and all, didn’t hurt any either!)

Looking back to the 1950s, it’s eye-opening to realize how far investing has come since then. That was back before computer-generated data was available to help us understand the powerful efficiencies available in our capital markets. It meant that trying to pick this or that stock was not only the typical way to invest … it was mostly the only way possible. Low-cost index funds weren’t even available until the 1970s, but what a ride, as today we’re nearing 40% of the market resembling our approach.

Are you looking for a speaker for one of your organization’s events? Let us know if we can tell you more about the evolution of investing. Not to worry: Having an awesome view is optional.

PS: Are you wondering about that weird square drawing in the photo above? Check out our “Illustration of the Month”  post. 

Given how fleeting a financial super-star’s fame tends to be, there’s something comforting about Warren Buffett’s staying power as the “Oracle of Omaha.” (Omaha is Buffett’s hometown and headquarters for his global holding company Berkshire Hathaway.) The straightforward wisdom he’s been sharing for more than 50 years in his annual shareholder letters helps explain the perennial appeal.

I’ve long admired his position on how to invest sensibly over the long haul. After all, he’s the guy who first said (in 1988), “our favorite holding period is forever.” But his insights on human character are always among my favorites, such as these new gems from his recently released 2016 letter.

• “1,000 monkeys would be just as likely to produce a seemingly all-wise prophet. But there would remain a difference: The lucky monkey would not find people standing in line to invest with him.”
• “Ever-present naysayers may prosper by marketing their gloomy forecasts. But heaven help them if they act on the nonsense they peddle.”
• “As Charlie [Munger] says, it’s great to have a manager with a 160 IQ – unless he thinks it’s 180.”
• “[B]ad behavior is contagious: CEOs who overtly look for ways to report high numbers tend to foster a culture in which subordinates strive to be ‘helpful’ as well.”
• “This year the magic potion may be hedge funds, next year something else. The likely result from this parade of promises is predicted in an adage: ‘When a person with money meets a person with experience, the one with experience ends up with the money and the one with money leaves with experience.'”

PS: If you haven’t caught the HBO Special, “Becoming Warren Buffett,” I recommend that too. You have to love an 86-year-old billionaire who still drives by the McDonald’s take-out window on his way to work each morning to “splurge” on an Egg McMuffin®. (Here’s the promo for it​. To watch it in full, you’ll need to be an HBO subscriber.)

When we talk about evidence-based investing, we often mention the importance of going global.

Global diversification ensures that you aren’t placing all of your financial faith in the fate of any one country’s concentrated risks. It also helps you combat your natural tendency to bulk up on investments closer to home, where you imagine you’ll be safer or better off over the long haul.

That’s known in behavioral finance as “familiarity” or “home-town” bias, and it’s premised on false assumptions. We’re as patriotic as the next Americans. But the evidence still informs us that human commerce knows few borders, so neither should our investments.

That’s the long view on global diversification. But have you ever wondered about some of the details?

Say, for example, you were to invest half of your portfolio in a U.S. equity index fund, and the other half in an international index fund, “ex-U.S.” In terms of number of stocks as well as market cap (the total dollar value of a public company’s outstanding shares), how diversified are you, really? Are you still at a 50/50 split?

Dimensional Fund Advisors recently published “Going Global: A Look at Public Company Listings,” to explore some of these underlying questions. Some of its findings:

• Worldwide, there are more publicly traded stocks than their used to be, increasing from about 23,000 to 33,000 between 1995 and year-end 2016.
• In the U.S., there are fewer publicly traded stocks than their used to be. Using the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index as a benchmark, U.S. stocks declined from about 5,000 to 3,600 companies between 2005 and year-end 2016. (That’s right, the “Wilshire 5000” actually only tracks about 3,600 stocks these days.)
• As measured by market cap, the U.S. still dominates global markets – by far, at 54% of the world’s market cap. That’s also an increase from 40% in 1995. The next biggest contender? Japan at 8%. (See our accompanying “Illustration of the Month.”) 
• Many index funds only expose their shareholders to a fraction of these total available stocks. From Dimensional’s report: “For example, one well-known global benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index Investable Market Index (MSCI ACWI IMI) contains between 8,000 and 9,000 stocks. … For comparison, the Dimensional investable universe, at around 13,000 stocks, is broader.”

What can you draw from these insights besides trivia to share at your next social gathering? Zooming back to our favorite vantage point – the Long View – there are still plenty of opportunities in plenty of places to maintain your efficient, effective, globally diversified investment strategy.