Archives for October 2025

My top fund investments include three fixed income-centric funds, two gold funds, two dividend-centric equity funds, two inflation hedge energy funds, and one dividend-centric consumer equity fund for a total of ten major positions in all.

My fund volatility in the normal year approaches zero. 100% of my investing is based on the Prudent Man Rule and Ben Graham’s Margin of Safety. I do not speculate with the money I have worked a lifetime to earn, and I never have. I have never taken what most investors refer to as a significant loss. In fact, I can rightfully be referred to as a pretty boring investor.

The Prudent Man Rule is based on common law stemming from the 1830 Massachusetts court formulation Harvard College v. Amory. The Prudent Man Rule directs trustees “to observe how men of prudence, discretion and intelligence manage their own affairs, not in regard to speculation, but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income, as well as the probable safety of the capital invested.”

Since I started our family investment management firm in 1989, I have operated under the assumption that the Prudent Man Rule to this day carries as much weight as it did in 1830. Common sense and prudence just don’t go out of style—ever.