My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Andrew Pek is a co-founder of Amiko XR Inc., a groundbreaking company that leverages VR and AI technologies to create immersive, personalized learning experiences available 24/7.STORY: Andrew shared his worst investment ever story on episode 376: Build Revenue in Your Startup Before You Build Up Cost. Today, he discusses his new business.LEARNING: Learning can be more immersive, sparking curiosity and excitement. “Thank you so much, Andrew, for having me on your podcast. It’s great to see you. I am excited about the future.”Andrew Pek Guest profileAndrew Pek is a co-founder of Amiko XR Inc., a groundbreaking company that leverages VR and AI technologies to create immersive, personalized learning experiences available 24/7. He is a recognized C-Suite advisor on innovation and human transformation. Andrew’s insights on leadership and design thinking have been featured in prominent media outlets such as ABC, NBC, Forbes, and Entrepreneur.Andrew shared his worst investment ever story on episode 376: Build Revenue in Your Startup Before You Build Up Cost. Today, he discusses his new business.Worst investment everMuch of Andrew’s work has involved teaching leadership, innovation, product design, and business development skills. He’s always seeking new ways that technology can engage people to absorb learning and become more engaged—not just a boring, traditional training program, but something that would really involve learners in a more immersive way, sparking their curiosity and excitement.Andrew and his team successfully prototyped a solution in which learners get an immersive learning experience through a headset and talk to a coach avatar who can teach just about anything.So, if you’re interested in finance, investing, sales, leadership, career preparation, and just about any topic matter, you’ll find it on the app. This includes job-related skills, general management and leadership courses, and personal development topics.You can obtain information at your fingertips through generative AI and large language models. What sets the application apart is the combination of artificial intelligence and a VR experience. Through simulations, role plays, or evaluation, learners can master any particular topic or get support in any particular challenge. Unlike mobile device applications, VR experiences significantly reduce distractions, leading to more focused and practical engagement.The solution is also unique because it is curated and configured to the expert level. You teach the avatar, and the avatar then teaches others. It ingests your content to become a master in your subject and attain the same level of intelligence as you.Learners who use the solution talk to someone as if they’re talking to you in an interactive, dynamic environment. If something is unclear or learners want to probe further or even get additional guidance or resources, the solution will facilitate that. Learners get videos and information transcripts and don’t have to take notes.Andrew’s solution is a smart choice for mid-to-large-sized corporations or even smaller corporations that can’t afford expensive training or trainers. It’s a cost-effective solution for those looking to provide any training, such as onboarding new employees. Employees can use the application on an ongoing basis to access courses specific to their job or general management leadership courses, just like they’d access a course library, but at the convenience of their homes.Most people nowadays are spending time at home or in the office. With this solution, they don’t have to worry about entering the physical space for an immersive learning experience. Unlike gaming, they can do that sitting on their couch without moving around, so you don’t have to worry about getting dizzy when using VR. It’s a much more stationary experience.If you’re interested in understanding how Andrew’s solution can help your organization, check out amikoxr.com or contact Andrew at Andrewp@amikoxr.com. [spp-transcript] Connect with Andrew PekLinkedInTwitterWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramThreadsTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. In this series, they discuss Chapter 09: The Fed Model and the Money Illusion.LEARNING: Just because there is a correlation doesn’t mean that there’s causation. “Just because there is a correlation doesn’t mean that there’s causation. The mere existence of a correlation doesn’t necessarily give it predictive value.”Larry Swedroe In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. The book is a collection of stories that Larry has developed over 30 years as the head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners to help investors. You can learn more about Larry’s Worst Investment Ever story on Ep645: Beware of Idiosyncratic Risks.Larry deeply understands the world of academic research and investing, especially risk. Today, Andrew and Larry discuss Chapter 09: The Fed Model and the Money Illusion.Chapter 09: The Fed Model and the Money IllusionIn this chapter, Larry illustrates why the Fed Model should not be used to determine whether the market is at fair value and that the E/P ratio is a much better predictor of future real returns.The FED modelThe stock and bond markets are filled with wrongheaded data mining. David Leinweber of First Quadrant famously illustrated this point with what he called “stupid data miner tricks.”Leinweber sifted through a United Nations CD-ROM and discovered the single best predictor of the S&P 500 Index had been butter production in Bangladesh. His example perfectly illustrates that a correlation’s mere existence doesn’t necessarily give it predictive value. Some logical reason for the correlation is required for it to have credibility. Without a logical reason, the correlation is just a mere illusion.According to Larry, the “money illusion” has the potential to create investment mistakes. It relates to one of the most popular indicators used by investors to determine whether the market is under or overvalued—what is known as “the Fed Model.”The Federal Reserve was using the Fed model to determine if the market was fairly valued and how attractive stocks were priced relative to bonds. Using the “logic” that bonds and stocks are competing instruments, the model uses the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond to calculate “fair value,” comparing that rate to the earnings-price, or E/P, ratio (the inverse of the popular price-to-earnings, or P/E, ratio).Larry points out two major problems with the Fed Model. The first relates to how the model is used by many investors. Edward Yardeni, at the time a market strategist for Morgan, Grenfell & Co. speculated that the Federal Reserve used the model to compare the valuation of stocks relative to bonds as competing instruments.The model says nothing about absolute expected returns. Thus, stocks, using the Fed Model, might be priced under fair value relative to bonds, and they can have either high or low expected returns. The expected return of stocks is not determined by their relative value to bonds.Instead, the expected real return is determined by the current dividend yield plus the expected real growth in dividends. To get the estimated nominal return, estimated inflation must be added. This is a critical point that seems to be lost on many investors. This leaves a trail of disappointed investors who believe low interest rates justify a high valuation for stocks without the high valuation impacting expected returns. The reality is that when P/Es are high, expected returns are low, and vice versa, regardless of the level of interest rates.The second problem with the Fed Model, leading to a false conclusion, is that it fails to consider that inflation impacts corporate earnings differently than it does the return on fixed-income instruments.Over the long term, the nominal growth rate of corporate earnings has been in line with the nominal growth rate of the economy. Similarly, the real growth rate of corporate earnings has been in line with the real growth of the economy. Thus, in the long term, the real growth rate of earnings is not impacted by inflation.On the other hand, the yield to maturity on a 10-year bond is a nominal return—to get the real return, you must subtract inflation. The error of comparing a number that isn’t impacted by inflation to one that is, leads to the money illusion.Understand how the money illusion is createdUnderstanding how the money illusion is created will prevent you from believing an environment of low interest rates allows for either high valuations or high future stock returns. Instead, if the current level of prices is high (a high P/E ratio), that should lead you to conclude that future returns to equities are likely to be lower than has historically been the case and vice versa. This doesn’t mean investors should avoid equities because they are highly valued or increase their allocations because they have low valuations.Further readingKiplinger’s Personal Finance, February 1997.Humphrey-Hawkins Report, Section 2: Economic and Financial Developments in 1997 Alan Greenspan, July 22, 1997.William Bernstein, “The Efficient Frontier,” (Summer 2002).Clifford S. Asness, “Fight the Fed Model: The Relationship Between Stock Market Yields, Bond Market Yields, and Future Returns,” (December 2002).Did you miss out on the previous chapters? Check them out:Enrich Your Future 01: The Determinants of the Risk and Return of Stocks and BondsEnrich Your Future 02: How Markets Set PricesEnrich Your Future 03: Persistence of Performance: Athletes Versus Investment ManagersEnrich Your Future 04: Why Is Persistent Outperformance So Hard to Find?Enrich Your Future 05: Great Companies Do Not Make High-Return InvestmentsEnrich Your Future 06: Market Efficiency and the Case of Pete RoseEnrich Your Future 07: The Value of Security AnalysisEnrich Your Future 08: High Economic Growth Doesn’t Always Mean High Stock Market ReturnAbout Larry SwedroeLarry Swedroe was head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners. Since joining the firm in 1996, Larry has spent his time, talent, and energy educating investors on the benefits of evidence-based investing with an enthusiasm few can match.Larry was among the first authors to publish a book that explained the science of investing in layman’s terms, “The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need.” He has authored or co-authored 18 books.Larry’s dedication to helping others has made him a sought-after national speaker. He has made appearances on national television on various outlets.Larry is a prolific writer, regularly contributing to multiple outlets, including AlphaArchitect, Advisor Perspectives, and Wealth Management. [spp-transcript] Connect with Larry SwedroeLinkedInTwitterWebsiteBooksAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramThreadsTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Pavan Sukhdev’s remarkable journey from scientist to international banker to environmental economist has brought him to the forefront of the sustainability movement.STORY: Pavan ignored his investment rules and invested in a bond, which caused him to lose almost his entire investment.LEARNING: Don’t make exceptions; the rules are the essence. Set up concentration risk limits. Diversify. “A lot of investment mistakes are about not following your own disciplines. Had I followed my own disciplines, I wouldn’t be telling you this story.”Pavan Sukhdev Guest profilePavan Sukhdev’s remarkable journey from scientist to international banker to environmental economist has brought him to the forefront of the sustainability movement. As CEO and Founder of GIST Impact, he collaborates with corporations and investors, leveraging impact economics and technology to measure a business’s holistic value contribution to the world.Worst investment everPavan is a relatively disciplined investor who always tries to maintain his money’s principal value by investing it wisely. For this reason, Pavan follows a couple of personal investment rules.First, wherever he invests, he either makes friends or has friends. Second, Pavan follows a strict logic when investing in financial assets—he only invests in sovereign bonds. Third, Pavan has set up a concentration risk limit of $100,000 for a single sovereign emerging market. He never invests more than $50,000 on a credit. Fourth, Pavan always reads about the company he wants to invest in to understand what it does and its credit rating. Fifth, Pavan typically invests in sectors where he would be above average in reading and knowledge about that company.Once, a friend came along and asked Pavan if he knew of a particular company with a bond earning 8.75%. Pavan hadn’t heard about it. But he happened to know the family that owned it, and he was interested in it. Pavan decided to invest $100,000 instead of putting his maximum concentration of $50,000.As part of his investment strategy, Pavan reads about companies. A news flash said that the company was involved in a contract in Malaysia. Pavan thought this was great, but that was that.He never followed up on the news. It happens that the company lost the contract. Losing the contract was a big thing that caused the bond price to go down to $75 from $88. At this point, Pavan should have reduced his exposure by bringing the $100,000 down to $50,000, but he didn’t. He continued to sit on the losses and hung on, and the price kept dropping. Finally, at some point, when it was just too low for it to make any difference, the company stopped paying coupons.Lessons learnedDon’t make exceptions; the rules are the essence.Set up concentration risk limits and reflect the volatility of that asset.DiversifyDon’t sit on losses.Andrew’s takeawaysFollow and stick to a stop-loss system.Don’t buy something just because you’ve sold something else.Actionable adviceSet your concentration risk limits, put your trading style in place, and diversify.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsPavan’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to get his company profitable because it’s nice to be right, but it’s better to be profitable.Parting words “All the best, guys. Invest wisely and invest well, and when it works, do something useful with that money.”Pavan Sukhdev [spp-transcript] Connect with Pavan SukhdevLinkedinWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramThreadsTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. In this series, they discuss Chapter 08: Be Careful What You Ask For.LEARNING: High growth rates don’t always mean high stock returns. “Emerging markets are very much like the rest of the world’s capital markets—they do an excellent job of reflecting economic growth prospects into stock prices.”Larry Swedroe In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. The book is a collection of stories that Larry has developed over 30 years as the head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners to help investors. You can learn more about Larry’s Worst Investment Ever story on Ep645: Beware of Idiosyncratic Risks.Larry deeply understands the world of academic research and investing, especially risk. Today, Andrew and Larry discuss Chapter 08: Be Careful What You Ask For.Chapter 08: Be Careful What You Ask ForIn this chapter, Larry cautions people to be careful what they wish for in investing. He emphasizes the daunting challenge of active management, a path many choose in the belief that they can accurately forecast market trends.However, as Larry points out, the reality is far from this ideal. The unpredictability of the market makes it almost impossible to predict with 100% accuracy, a fact that investors should be acutely aware of.High growth rates don’t always mean high stock returnsIt’s important to note that high growth rates don’t always translate into high stock returns, underscoring the unpredictability of market outcomes. According to Larry, for today’s investors, the equivalent of the “Midas touch” (the king who turned everything he touched into gold) might be the ability to forecast economic growth rates.If investors could forecast with 100% certainty which countries would have the highest growth rates, they could invest in them and avoid those with low growth rates. This would lead to abnormal profits—or, perhaps not.Nobody can predict with that accuracy. Even if one could make such a prediction, they may still not make the profits they think they will. This is because, as Larry explains, experts have found that there has been a slightly negative correlation between country growth rates and stock returns.A 2006 study on emerging markets by Jim Davis of Dimensional Fund Advisors found that the high-growth countries from 1990 to 2005 returned 16.4%, and the low-growth countries returned the same 16.4%.Such evidence has led Larry to conclude that it doesn’t matter if you can even forecast which countries will have high growth rates; the market will make the same forecast and adjust stock prices accordingly.Therefore, to beat the market, you must be able to forecast better than the market already expects, and to do so, you need to gather information at a cost. In other words, you can’t just be smarter than the market; you have to be smarter than the market enough to overcome all your expenses of gathering information and trading costs.Larry emphasizes that emerging markets are very much like the rest of the world’s capital markets—they do an excellent job of reflecting economic growth prospects into stock prices. The only advantage an investor would have is the ability to forecast surprises in growth rates, which, by definition, are unpredictable.Did you miss out on the previous chapters? Check them out:Enrich Your Future 01: The Determinants of the Risk and Return of Stocks and BondsEnrich Your Future 02: How Markets Set PricesEnrich Your Future 03: Persistence of Performance: Athletes Versus Investment ManagersEnrich Your Future 04: Why Is Persistent Outperformance So Hard to Find?Enrich Your Future 05: Great Companies Do Not Make High-Return InvestmentsEnrich Your Future 06: Market Efficiency and the Case of Pete RoseEnrich Your Future 07: The Value of Security AnalysisAbout Larry SwedroeLarry Swedroe was head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners. Since joining the firm in 1996, Larry has spent his time, talent, and energy educating investors on the benefits of evidence-based investing with an enthusiasm few can match.Larry was among the first authors to publish a book that explained the science of investing in layman’s terms, “The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need.” He has authored or co-authored 18 books.Larry’s dedication to helping others has made him a sought-after national speaker. He has made appearances on national television on various outlets.Larry is a prolific writer, regularly contributing to multiple outlets, including AlphaArchitect, Advisor Perspectives, and Wealth Management. [spp-transcript] Connect with Larry SwedroeLinkedInTwitterWebsiteBooksAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramThreadsTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. In this series, they discuss Chapter 07: The Value of Security Analysis.LEARNING: Smart investors, like smart businesspeople, care about results, not efforts. “Smart investors, like smart businesspeople, care about results, not efforts. That is why “smart money” invests in “passively managed,” structured portfolios that invest systematically in a transparent and replicable manner.”Larry Swedroe In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. The book is a collection of stories that Larry has developed over the 30 years to help investors as the head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners. You can learn more about Larry’s Worst Investment Ever story on Ep645: Beware of Idiosyncratic Risks.Larry deeply understands the world of academic research and investing, especially risk. Today, Andrew and Larry discuss Chapter 07: The Value of Security Analysis.Chapter 07: The Value of Security AnalysisIn this chapter, Larry explains how to test the efficiency of the market by looking at how good security analysts are at predicting the future. If they can outsmart the markets, then the markets are not efficient.Do investors who follow security analysts's recommendations outperform the market?In business, results are what matters— not effort. The same is true in investing because we cannot spend efforts, only results. The basic premise of active management is that, through their efforts, security analysts can identify and recommend undervalued stocks and avoid overvalued ones. As a result, investors who follow their recommendations will outperform the market. Is this premise myth or reality?To answer this question, Larry relies on the robust findings of academic research in the paper Analysts and Anomalies. The authors meticulously examined the recommendations of U.S. security analysts over the period 1994 through 2017. Their findings debunk the myth of analysts' infallibility and shed light on the surprising ways analysts' predictions conflict with well-documented anomalies. They also found that buy recommendations did not predict returns, though sell recommendations did predict lower returns. Another intriguing finding was that among the group of "market" anomalies (such as momentum and idiosyncratic risk), which are based only on stock returns, price, and volume data, analysts produce more favorable recommendations and forecast higher returns among the stocks that are stronger buys according to market anomalies. This is perhaps surprising, as analysts are supposed to be experts in firms' fundamentals. Yet, they performed best with anomalies not based on accounting data.The evidence in this academic paper suggests that analysts even contribute to mispricing, as their recommendations are systematically biased by favoring overvalued stocks according to anomaly-based composite mispricing scores. The authors concluded: "Analysts today are still overlooking a good deal of valuable, anomaly-related information."Results are what matters not effortIn conclusion, Larry states that if corporate insiders (e.g., boards of directors), with access to far more information than any security analyst is likely to have, have such great difficulty in determining a "correct" valuation, then it is easy to understand why the results of active management are poor and inconsistent.While security analysts and active portfolio managers make great efforts to beat the market, historical evidence shows that those efforts have proven counterproductive most of the time. And savvy investors, like smart businesspeople, care about results, not efforts. That is why "smart money" invests in "passively managed," structured portfolios that invest systematically in a transparent and replicable manner.Further readingJoseph Engelberg, David McLean and Jeffrey Pontiff, “Analysts and Anomalies,” Journal of Accounting and Finance (February 2020).Did you miss out on the previous chapters? Check them out:Enrich Your Future 01: The Determinants of the Risk and Return of Stocks and BondsEnrich Your Future 02: How Markets Set PricesEnrich Your Future 03: Persistence of Performance: Athletes Versus Investment ManagersEnrich Your Future 04: Why Is Persistent Outperformance So Hard to Find?Enrich Your Future 05: Great Companies Do Not Make High-Return InvestmentsEnrich Your Future 06: Market Efficiency and the Case of Pete RoseAbout Larry SwedroeLarry Swedroe was head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Wealth Partners. Since joining the firm in 1996, Larry has spent his time, talent, and energy educating investors on the benefits of evidence-based investing with an enthusiasm few can match.Larry was among the first authors to publish a book that explained the science of investing in layman’s terms, “The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need.” He has authored or co-authored 18 books.Larry’s dedication to helping others has made him a sought-after national speaker. He has made appearances on national television on various outlets.Larry is a prolific writer, regularly contributing to multiple outlets, including AlphaArchitect, Advisor Perspectives, and Wealth Management. [spp-transcript] Connect with Larry SwedroeLinkedInTwitterWebsiteBooksAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramThreadsTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Click here to get the PDF with all charts and graphs Introducing emerging marketsOur FVMR frameworkFundamentals: Emerging markets are about 20% less profitableValuation: Emerging markets are about 41% cheaperAsset class and region/country allocationsIntroducing emerging marketsOur FVMR framework   Fundamentals: Emerging markets are about 20% less profitable Valuation: Emerging markets are about 41% cheaper UK: Cheap and high profitabilityGermany and Korea: Cheap and low profitabilityAustralia and US: Expensive but high profitabilityAsset class and region/country allocationsThis is not a recommendationMy next rebalance is in early SeptemberEverything could change thenThis is not a recommendationMy next rebalance is in early SeptemberEverything could change then Click here to get the PDF with all charts and graphs Andrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Justus Hammer is the Group CEO and Co-founder of Mad Paws. Over the past two years, he has invested in over 45 startups. He has served as an advisor and early investor in Airtasker and a founding investor and advisor to VICE Golf.STORY: Justus developed an idea to make real estate buying easier. He wanted to expand outside of Australia when COVID hit. Justus took a pause, thinking that the market would tank further. Instead, property prices doubled in the next 18 months.LEARNING: What works in one asset class will not necessarily work in another. The real estate market dynamics are very different in each market. Timing matters, but you can never really know whether your timing is right until after. “I don’t think there is a single truth or strategy that works for everyone. Just think about it and ask yourself what you want to achieve and what the most likely scenario is for you to get there.”Justus Hammer Guest profileJustus Hammer is the Group CEO and Co-founder of Mad Paws. He has invested in over 45 startups over the past two years, serving as an advisor and early investor to Airtasker and a founding investor and advisor to VICE Golf. He has not only been involved in starting more than ten companies in the tech space, like Spreets and Mad Paws, but has also developed a growing interest in cash flow businesses over the past ten years.Worst investment everJustus saw a big opportunity in the real estate space to improve and make purchasing a property easier. There’s a whole lot of angst that goes with that, and many people are very scared about the process and sometimes get it wrong. So, Justus and his company wanted to create a better way to get buyers from property A into property B.They spent time building the idea and even had some of Australia’s biggest real estate companies backing them. In the beginning, the company was working and managed to transact around 40 properties.But it was a tough time in Australia’s real estate market, so Justus ran into many issues. One particular issue was timing. The market was going down, so they had to buy properties, try to improve them, and sell them quickly.They also ran into the problem of not being aggressive enough on the buying side, so they couldn’t get many properties. Still, they made money on about 60 or 70% of their properties. But they also had a couple that really killed them.Justus believed the market would improve, so they sat through it. The market kept dropping, and they started looking for other opportunities. They began to look closer into the numbers, the unit economics, and what had been working. They realized the model was working pretty well outside Australia.His company decided to expand into Europe, but before they did, COVID hit. COVID changed the dynamics completely. Debt facility providers pulled back and refused to give them a loan. Their real estate partners decided to figure out the situation first, believing the market value would go down. The market turned out to be the opposite, and property prices doubled in the next 18 months.Lessons learnedWhat works in one asset class will not necessarily work in another.The real estate market dynamics are very different in the US, Europe, and Australia.You can’t have regrets in investing. You’ve got to take the good and the bad.There isn’t a single truth or strategy that works for everyone.Andrew’s takeawaysTiming matters, but you can never really know whether your timing is right until after.Transferring a business model doesn’t always work.Investing is going to be a roller coaster, no matter what. It’s really a matter of holding on through the tough times.Actionable adviceJustus underscores the value of pursuing activities that provide non-monetary benefits. He advises finding a balance between doing what you’re good at and what brings you joy. This advice serves as a guiding light, helping the audience navigate the complex terrain of work-life balance and personal fulfillment.Justus’s recommendationsJustus recommends reading Atomic Habits to find structure and make your life easier. He also recommends The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck if you want to focus on what matters and reducing suffering.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsJustus’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to get Mad Paws to a better position and to invest in cash-flow businesses.Parting words “You’ve got to take some risk, but ensure you measure it as much as possible.”Justus Hammer [spp-transcript] Connect with Justus HammerLinkedInAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleFVMR Investing: Quantamental Investing Across the WorldBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsAchieve Your GoalsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramThreadsTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Financial expert Larry Swedroe discusses market efficiency and the case of Pete Rose in investing. He emphasizes not trying to time the market or pick stocks as retail investors often underperform. The podcast explores challenges in generating alpha, the fine line between legal and regulatory boundaries in sports betting, market bubbles, and collective wisdom.

Guest Larry Swedroe talks about why investing in great companies doesn't guarantee high returns. He discusses the concept of risk-adjusted returns, market efficiency, and the importance of understanding valuation. Larry emphasizes the significance of developing a financial plan based on expected returns from stocks and bonds, rather than trying to time the market.

Larry Swedroe, author of 'Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing,' discusses why persistent outperformance in investing is challenging. He emphasizes the importance of building a robust asset allocation plan, regularly rebalancing, and sticking with it. Larry shares insights on market bubbles, timing investment decisions, and the complexities of achieving consistent success in investing.