Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here!
Let’s begin by getting right into the heart of the matter. You might be wondering, what the heck are the three rules?
Here they are —
Three Investing Rules:
- Be careful with debt, with your personal finances and with your investments, because debt magnifies risk.
- Invest in value; the price you pay for a long-term investment will likely be the primary determinant of your risk and your reward.
- Work with an ethical financial advisor who is a fiduciary 100% of the time and who will help you stay on the right track to meet your financial goals.
You might recognize these rules as an amended version of Warren Buffet’s two investing rules*, but his self-evident investing rules don’t address any of these topics, and, besides that, they are also silly and not at all helpful. On this blog, I plan to mostly post about stories and ideas that relate directly or indirectly to these three rules as long as I am having fun doing it.
About You
You might be here to better figure out how to reach your financial goals, or how to better assess your financial advisor, or how to make sense of the financial markets.
I will be discussing all of these topics, trying to make sense of it all to help you to make sense of it all with me. I’m also hoping that you engage with me by posting your questions and comments. For my part, I will do my best to respond to them.
With regards to all three rules, I’d love for you to share your own experiences or stories, good or bad, in the comment section. My hope is that other readers learn will benefit from reading about your experiences and learning lessons from them.
I hope you will also improve your understanding of finance and investing from reading this blog, just as I hope to improve my knowledge level from writing posts and reading your comments.
About Me
My name is Adam Strauss, and I am Co-CEO of Appleseed Capital, a wealth management and financial advisory firm headquartered in Chicago.
Our firm has been in business for over a quarter of a century helping people and families develop financial plans and manage their money. We work with all of our wealth management clients as a fiduciary to:
a. Understand their current financial situation
b. Identify their long-term financial goals.
c. Develop and execute a financial plan to reach those long-term goals.
In addition to being a Chicago-based financial advisor, I also manage investment portfolios for our wealth management clients, for a mutual fund, and also for a private fund. We invest across a range of asset classes and geographies, and I expect to discuss my investment perspective on various asset classes over time.
I have been trying to help people with their finances and investments at Appleseed Capital since 2004. Before that, I worked in several different operating roles, primarily focused on corporate strategy at a couple of different socially responsible companies, including Frontier Co-op. I earned my undergraduate and my MBA degrees at Stanford, and in recent years I have become a big Stanford football fan. You can find additional details about my professional history and connect with me on my Linked-In page.
On a personal note, I live in Chicago with my wife and 15-year old son. Enjoying my time with them constitutes my primary hobby. My other interests are reading (mostly non-fiction), biking along the shores of Lake Michigan, and, when I have the chance, spending time in the wilderness with a backpack or a canoe. My favorite place in the world is Yosemite National Park.
If you have a topic idea for me to write about, please let me know! I want to write about topics that you want to read about and discuss.
Finally, please connect with me on Twitter!
*Warren Buffett’s 2 Investing Rules:
- Never lose money.
- Never forget about rule #1.