Investment Manager’s Report: Howling At The Moon
This month’s report borrows the title from Walter Yetnikoff’s autobiography, or as he calls it, “his confessions of a music mogul in an age of excess”. He reminds us of Saint Augustine’s sage advice: that the most important things happen when we’re in a state of confusion. If that is the case everything in December was important because I found myself very confused. For instance, the oil price may rise to $100 but such knowledge could not prevent it from declining 28% in just two weeks. Similarly, gold and silver may be the cheapest asset classes in the world (what else in your life sells for 50% less than its 1980 price; the average British pint of beer, for instance, has risen 500%?) but again that was of scant comfort as their respective prices crashed 8% and 21%.
