A Disciplined, Long-Term Approach 

We generally construct globally diversified portfolios using low-cost index funds and ETFs. We also purchase individual stocks in cases where we believe it is both safe and wise to limit diversification. In selecting investments, the following principles guide our decision making.  

Principles:

• Patience
  We employ a long-term investment approach - making no attempt to forecast the short-term behavior of financial markets. Short-term forecasts of stock or bond prices may tell you a great deal about the forecaster, but they tell you nothing about the future. Our buy-and-hold strategy is sometimes portrayed as outdated or ineffective, but in selecting investments, activity does not correlate with achievement. Wall Street makes money on activity; investors make money on inactivity.

• Simplicity
  In the field of investing, it's not necessary to do extraordinary things in order to achieve extraordinary results. Investors receive no additional compensation for degree of difficulty. In the words of Charlie Munger, "We try to profit more from always remembering the obvious than from grasping the esoteric. It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent."

• Independence
  Financial markets often exhibit a herd mentality which results in significant volatility. Investors who are able to remain rational can profit from the periodic distortions between price and value. We simply attempt to follow the advice of Warren Buffett, "Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy."

• Humility
  One of the most difficult and important aspects of making investment decisions is realistically defining what you know and don't know. We always attempt to remember the wise words of Richard Feynman, "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."