Real Impact, Real Returns ^SM

History has a way of repeating itself. A study of the past is therefore foundational to the art and science of investing. It is also foundational to understanding the world as it is today; the forces that unite people and countries and the forces that wish to divide & conquer, reclaim lost glory and cling to oppressive power structures. The latter is on tragic display in Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin misreads history and confuses his dreams of empire for the aspirations of his people, who are probably more interested in prospering in the modern world than imposing a bloody war on a European continent that thought it had permanently relegated such bloodletting to history.

My first letter of the year and I am feeling a sense of optimism that 2022 will truly be better than last year. In January of last year, I expressed the same sentiment and boy was that a case of wishful thinking. The pandemic doubled down, in terms of death toll and hospitalizations, surpassing the 1918 Spanish Flu and the Civil War to become the largest mass casualty event in US history. Of course, the US population is much larger now than in 1918 and 1864, but the numbers beg reflection.