- A really great article by Sam Altman.
- An interesting perspective on how to invest in winners.
- “There is a lot of advice about how to be a good startup founder. But there isn’t very much about how to be a good startup investor. Before going any further, I should point out that this is a particularly hard time to invest in startups—it’s easier right now to be a capital-taker than a capital-giver.”
- h/t The Browser.
Misc
Miscellaneous is often where the gems are.
North vs South of England
- Funny chart from FT giving us a way to tell the North from the south of England.
Genetic Diversity
- We all know about the cost of inbreeding.
- As a result it is generally accepted that species should outbreed as much as possible – but did you know there is a cost of outbreeding as well?
- “To produce healthy children, you should marry a third or fourth cousin. Farther out, the genetic costs of outbreeding begin to outweigh those of inbreeding. That was what a cohort study found in examining Icelanders born between 1800 and 1964. Fertility was lower if the woman’s husband was either closer in or farther out (Helgason et al. 2008).“
Animals
- Amazing article on the human impact on animals.
- “We breed and kill at least 80 billion animals per year for food and at least 115 million per year for research. Fishing kills 1-3 trillion animals per year. Deforestation destroys animal habitats. Leaf blowers and light pollution kill insects. Building and vehicle collisions kill at least a billion animals per year. This year, more than 300 birds were injured or killed in collisions with a building in North Carolina in a single night.“
Are the 1% happier?
- Interesting survey from NPR/RWJF/Harvard cited in Washington Post.
- It oversampled those in the top 1% of income distribution and asks about life satisfaction.
- Money does (at least to the $500,000 threshold) correlate to happiness.
- More survey questions in the article.
Latest Howard Marks
- Latest memo from OakTree’s Howard Marks.
- A really interesting read especially in the parallels between investing and gambling.
- A must read.
Cancer Mortality Rates
- New stats from the US Cancer Society show that between 1991 and 2017 the mortality rate of cancer has dropped 29%.
- According to the report, this was due to lower smoking rates, improved early detection methods and advances in treatment.
- This trend means more than 2.9m lives were saved since 1991.
- Really amazing.
Dishwashers
- Interesting article about what has been going on with dishwashers.
- In summary they have gotten a lot worse.
- In order to reduce water use from the original 15 gallons to 3 gallons, cycle times have increased. The chart (source) is striking.
- The wash results have also gotten a lot worse due to chemical regulation.
- Consumers think that by buying a newer model these problems will be solved but the reality is that an older model will do a better job.
PE getting into VC
- Increasingly private equity (PE) are getting involved in venture (VC).
Best CV Ever
Best Letter of Recommendation Ever
Hedge Funds
- 5th consecutive year of Hedge Funds closing.
- We previously wrote about lack of overall fund launches.
Failure
- It is always important in investing to learn from failure.
- The verge have produced a list of 84 of the last decade’s tech failures.
- Enjoy and learn!
2019 Snippet Wrap Part 2
- Most read Snippets of 2019.
- Woodford’s demise was a big deal for the fund management industry but, despite press, was foreseen by many.
- Business tactics in unlikely places.
- Knight Frank Luxury investment index component returns.
- US Government Deficits are going in the wrong direction.
2019 Snippet Wrap Part 1
- A series of the most popular snippets of 2019
- The cost declines of renewable energy compared to conventional energy generation has started to flat line.
- Real assets are at an all-time low against financial assets.
- Tech change is exponential.
- Fertility rates by education is a shocking stat.
Druckenmiller Interview
- Good interview with the always interesting Stanley Druckenmiller.
- Druckenmiller managed money for George Soros between 1988 – 2000 and was closely involved with the latter’s famous hedge fund bets.
- He discussed monetary policy and the upcoming US election.
Last Minute Christmas Gift?
- Looking for that last minute Christmas present?
- How about a subscription to The Browser.
- The Browsers sends you a daily email with five recommended articles on every imaginable topic.
- As an investor it is important to broaden one’s reading as wide as possible. This Browser gives you just that.
- Good curation is the hardest part of the internet, something Snippet stands for as well.
Country Stats
- Charts shows the distribution of countries by various statistics.
- Interesting to see who is top and bottom – try guess before you look.
- The categories are – Mortality rate of children under the age of 5, life expectancy, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, average income.
Air Pollution
- Great post showing how air pollution is detrimental to intelligence.
- Chess players make more mistakes on polluted days: “We find that an increase of 10 µg/m³ raises the probability of making an error by 1.5 percentage points, and increases the magnitude of the errors by 9.4%.
- World Bank air pollution data can be found here.
- Interestingly pollution has been declining, but 45% of the global population is still exposed to levels above those recommended by WHO.
Dave
- Shocking stat that there are more men named Dave in the fund management industry in the UK than there are women.
