byte-sized takes on investing and technology
Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM 
Most people judge AI from a free chatbot, while a small sliver hand agents real work. For asset owners, that gap can cost twice, and the fix is better judgment, not more enthusiasm.
ChatGPT can now read your bank, card and brokerage accounts and act as your money coach. It is impressive, convenient, and not a fiduciary. What changed, and what to check before you click “connect.”
An AI model held back from release because it is too good at finding software flaws is a siren, not a test. For family offices, with large fortunes and small teams, here is what to do before next quarter.
After a month, my AI analyst was better at spotting its own improvements than I was, the cheap model was often the right one, and its memory belonged in files, not chat.
Two weeks, plain-English instructions and one stubborn space lobster: what it took to build an AI agent that watches 197 funds, and why it should never get the master keys.
Cheap debt and rising valuations no longer do the work in private equity. The next decade’s returns will go to managers who improve businesses, and investors who can tell the difference.
A 1.8% fee on my first retirement statement looked harmless in 1998. Over 30 years, a fee like that can take around 40% of your final wealth. Here is where to look for it.
A street magician turned $20 into $100 for my son. A private equity fund’s headline IRR performs a similar trick. The numbers to ask for instead.
Our favorite pizzeria lost its magic once it got famous. Most top-performing fund managers do too. Why past rankings are a poor guide to picking the next winner.
Merchants faced pirates and farmers planted without forecasts. Uncertainty isn’t new; our illusion of control is. Old habits for an unknowable future.