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Are We Sure?
Here’s a snapshot of S&P 500 index company sales, dividends, earnings, and stock price performance, all expressed on a per share basis, for the 10 years ending 9/30/2025, courtesy of Mauldin Economics1: Margin expansion has been impressive (earnings per share growth almost 2x sales per share growth); but stock price performance has been even more impressive (with price up more than 3x sales) over the last decade. Some way wonder if the extra price performance relates to the
ACosgrove
Nov 203 min read


There Are Those Who Know What They Own. And There Are Speculators.
When most people here the words “conservative investor” they think of somebody who owns more bonds and less stocks – bonds being associated with lower risk of loss. But there is a better definition of the conservative investor and it was offered up by Andy Redleaf (mathematician, formerly of Whitebox Advisors and now at X Cubed Capital Management) many years ago, where Redleaf contrasts the conservative investor and the speculative investor: To us, the fundamental differe
ACosgrove
Oct 154 min read


The 1 Golden Rule for any Kind of Investing
It’s commonly understood that the 3 golden rules of real estate investing are location, location, and location. It’s less commonly...
ACosgrove
Aug 223 min read


Extra Credit
An incredible amount of money has flowed into "private strategies" over the last 5 years. And that growth continues…take a look at...
ACosgrove
Jul 215 min read


A Case Study in Scarcity & Conflict
Trade tensions remain elevated between the US and China and Liberation Day added fuel to that fire. China’s response included export...
RBeckwith
Jul 73 min read


The End of American Exceptionalism Is Not What You Think
Ted Seides (of Warren Buffett bet fame, where he wagered with Buffett that a portfolio of hedge funds would beat the S&P 500 index over...
ACosgrove
May 233 min read


Wartime Footing
In January we wrote to clients and told them: we are going to prioritize resilience for the foreseeable future. Why? Two things: scarcity...
ACosgrove
Apr 214 min read


A Better Way to Work with Business Owners
We feel so strongly about what we do that we wrote a manifesto about it. Most businesses begin when an entrepreneur identifies someone...
ACosgrove
Mar 273 min read


Scarcity Reminder
“Deficit spending has taken the baton from Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing, but the net result remains stimulative capital flowing...
ACosgrove
Mar 42 min read


Seems Like Our Attention is Misplaced
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau While researching U.S.-China relations on January...
ACosgrove
Jan 272 min read


The Future Debt Crisis in 12 Easy Steps
Late 19th century and first half of the 20th century was a time of great economic development but a time of the great economic...
ACosgrove
Dec 16, 20243 min read


Understanding Business Culture: Good/Bad OR Strong/Weak
Are you confident things can get done the way you need them to get done without your presence? One way to think about culture: it's what...
RBeckwith
Nov 20, 20243 min read


Hard Assets - Hard to Own, Hard Not to Own
More than 5 years of studying hard asset-related industries, businesses, and investment managers leads us to conclude that we are in the...
ACosgrove
Oct 30, 20242 min read


Dare to Be a Little Different
As for where we’re finding opportunity, I would argue non-U.S. markets today are generally mispriced. The focus has been on the U.S.,...
NYee
Aug 12, 20243 min read


Scarcity
A common refrain at Bluestone is that the future is inherently uncertain. It reminds us not to get too wedded to our ideas about the way...
NYee
Jul 9, 20242 min read


Why We Are Not Returning to the GFC-to-Covid Period of Low Rates & Low Volatility
Seems like everyone in the economic and investing worlds is obsessed with the question of when the Federal Reserve is going to begin...
NYee
Jun 20, 20242 min read


My Business is Cheap and No One Cares - Part 2
Once upon a time, stock prices responded (sooner or later) to the fundamental performance of the companies those stocks represent. Cash...
NYee
May 20, 20242 min read


The Capital Allocation Playbook
When you step into our world you will hear the term "capital allocation" a lot. But what does capital allocation mean, exactly? As...
NYee
May 7, 20242 min read


Do You Want Efficient or Do You Want Better
Most of the financial advice / wealth management industry is intently focused on how to get more efficient. The path to being more...
NYee
Apr 23, 20242 min read


The Time When Conventional Wisdom Forgot About Diversification
One of our issues with passive investing today (i.e., using a formula-driven index to determine what to own and how much to own) is the...
NYee
Apr 9, 20242 min read
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