Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of December 21, 2021

Article Excerpt

Dear Inner Circle Member, Some of my most productive investment thinking occurs when I answer a question and it leads me to think about an old concept in a new or different way. Recently, for example, an Inner Circle member asked about the term “blue chip.” My first reaction is that it’s an old-fashioned investment cliché, and that it implies high investment quality coupled with low risk. But I felt a need to add that it can be used to draw attention away from risks, particularly conflicts of interest. As we’ve often said, these conflicts are the greatest risk you face in the course of an investing career. In fact, some people use the term blue chip deliberately, to portray a particular investment as safe, proven, dependable etc., even if it’s anything but. Many perfectly innocent terms can be persuasive, misleading and dangerous. You might call them “terms of financial endearment.” Here’s another: “You’re right, Mr. Smith, this tax shelter’s fees are a wee bit…