Jeanré du Plessis

There are a lot of people out there making a lot of noise and waving their hands, trying to tell you what you should be focusing on as an investor. These “hand-wavey” people talk about China, things like monetary policy, stimulus, asset allocation, and shiny objects like silver and gold. It’s an awful lot to keep track of. And don’t get me wrong, some of those things actually do matter. It’s not a bad idea to learn about them. But one thing is certain: When it comes to investing, nothing...

Can you do me a favour? Please list for me your financial goals. … Go ahead, I’ll wait… Okay, stop. Did you feel that? Even I can feel it. And what I feel when somebody tells me to list my financial goals is weight on my shoulders. I can feel tension in my neck. I can feel this emotion bubbling up in me, saying: “I don’t know!” Can you do me a favour? Please list for me your financial goals. … Go ahead, I’ll wait… Okay, stop. Did you feel that? Even I can feel it. And what I feel when...

I want to tell you a quick story about a doctor. They had this one patient who wanted to argue about which blood pressure medication they should be taking. “But wait!” the doctor would find himself saying, again and again, “you still smoke!” I assume you can see the problem here: There’s no point in talking about blood pressure medications until we address the underlying cause of the condition. Similarly, it’s crazy to be worried about finding the best investment before you’ve decided where...