Happy to share that I am going to start posting regularly again. Some slight changes from before and a reduced posting schedule, but still hoping to add some value to this corner of the Internet.
When I started the blog in February 2022, I had a few goals: to research, test, and share insights about Risk Parity. I committed myself to a twice a week posting schedule for a year, with a mix of posts: some portfolio reviews, some literature reviews, plus in-depth looks at various investments and concepts within the Risk Parity universe.
I’m proud to say that I made my goal, but as March 2023 rolled around, I took a step back and declared a bit of a hiatus. I had a huge summer trip to Europe to plan for (which turned out to be epic!), plus my son’s impending college search and application process. I still did my portfolio reviews, and except for one little teaser post about RSST two weeks ago, took a nice little break.
Well, Europe is now in the rear-view mirror, and getting my son ready is not proving to be as time consuming as I thought (mostly because if he never writes rough drafts of his application statements, then there’s not much to review!), and I’m finding I still have things to write about. A couple of nice shout-outs from Frank on Risk Parity Radio and a kind email from reader ZS really sealed the deal - I enjoy this blog and still have things to say.
Some changes and new directions are in store, though:
1) One post a week, not two
The posting schedule will be reduced. I was doing twice a week, but that will now be once a week. I can always do more, of course, but that’s what I’m expecting from myself with this reboot.
2) RP Resources Out, RP Roundup In
I’ll still keep the portfolio reviews, but will be really changing the Risk Parity Resources posts where I would collect, review and then opine about some article from the academic or financial professional world. They won’t exactly go away but…I’ll be starting a new regular post called “Risk Parity Roundup” where I pass along what I’ve been listening to and reading over the previous four weeks. I’ll feature a lot of Risk Parity Radio here, plus anything else that gets my attention. Look for paragraph-long write-ups, at most.
3) I’ll be trying to write shorter pieces, in general.
‘Nuff said..
4) Simplify, simplify, simplify.
I’ve tried to make my blog as beginner-friendly as possible, but as my wife says, it’s still too much. Knowing that there are pros out there who explain the complicated stuff about Risk Parity (and asset allocation more generally) waaaay better than me, but also that there is a lot of misinformation and charlatanism out there at the other end, my niche can perhaps being a quality voice translating the pros to a wider audience.
5) Bit More YouTube
Following that, I’m going to try to produce more content on my YouTube channel. Once again, the person who knows me best says that while my writing is hard for her to get through, my YouTube videos are clearer, so I’m going to move in that direction a bit, and will use the blog and the Twitter account for cross-posting.
6) More Series
I can’t speak for my audience, but I certainly learned a ton when doing the REIT series or the TIPS series. The process of looking at the same topic from fix, six, X number of angles really helped my own thinking, and looking back, I’m probably most proud and confident in those. So, I'll have a bit more along these lines. I think my next series will be on gold investing, and then more on trend-following managed futures, for example.
7) More on Capital Efficiency
In my real-life investing journey, I’ve been really getting into capital efficient funds like Return Stacked’s RSBT and RSST and many from WisdomTree (NTSX, NTSI, GDE, GDMN). There have also been really intrigued by some products coming from Simplify ETFs, and I’m sensing a bit of a subtle sea change for retail investors as more and more strategies that were previously the domain of the pros become available for us small fish. When I talk about them with my circle of friends, though, I get the blankest stares imaginable. I’m planning on exploring this space a bit more and trying to translate the strategies into plain English for the general public. It’s still Risk Parity, but more of the second path as I defined earlier: using leverage with diversified portfolios to boost expected returns.
And to you, dear readers, your feedback is always welcome, and if you have any comments or insights, I’d be happy to hear from you at riskparitychronicles at gmail. Thanks for reading and following!
... A man of focus, commitment, and sheer will. I once saw him do three mutil-asset class backtests with a pencil...a f*^&$%# pencil. I mean, who does that?