A friend of mine, Alex Story, sent me a brief essay, which he published in The Critic and in which he reviewed Robert Wigley’s book: Born Digital – The Story of a Distracted Generation under the title:
How Gen Z became Gen Me
The subtitle is: “How the dominance of social media and mobile technology is making today’s teenagers less empathetic and more narcissistic.”
He quotes a psychologist who says that, “People are living their lives through social media to the point where we are not using social media, social media is using us.”
Story also points out that, "Caught in this enervating state of a never-ending present, everything is true and false simultaneously."
This reminded me of Hanna Arendt who wrote The Origins of Totalitarianism in which she observed about the Nazi era that, "In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true.”
In view of several sectors being in “bubble” phases while others like bonds seem to be in bear markets, I am discussing whether the Asset Allocation of 25% Real Estate, 25% Equities, 25% Bonds and Cash, and 25% Precious Metals still makes sense.
In this respect my readers should remember the words of the late Peter Bernstein (a brilliant, humble and nice man of great intellect who wrote several books – all highly recommended). Bernstein:
"In their calmer moments, investors recognize their inability to know what the future holds. In moments of extreme panic or enthusiasm, however, they become remarkably bold in their predictions; they act as though uncertainty has vanished and the outcome is beyond doubt. Reality is abruptly transformed into that hypothetical future where the outcome is known. These are rare occasions, but they are also unforgettable: major tops and bottoms in markets are defined by this switch from doubt to certainty."
I am enclosing with my contemplations two reports. Both are well worth a read. My friends Daniel Gschwend and Adi Wenzel who are the principals at forClients Partner AG in Switzerland describe their strategy under Styles (and sectors) determine the success of an equity investment.
I am also enclosing with this report an essay about crypto-currencies by my friend Mark E. Jeftovic entitled Crypto Capitalist Manifesto.
With kind regards
Yours sincerely
Marc Faber
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