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Every two weeks, I share my writing on investing, career transitions, meaningful work, parenting, living intentionally, and other topics that engage me.

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Field Notes Edition #11 (#100 total for Beyond the Cove!)

Welcome to another Field Notes edition of Beyond the Cove. I’m experimenting with a looser approach that's quicker to write and, hopefully, just as interesting for you to read.

In these emails, I’ll share a few things I noticed lately that made me think, smile, or look twice. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

I was surprised to see that this marks the 100th edition of Beyond the Cove across all of its iterations over the years. Thanks for your ongoing interest and support!

As always, please share any feedback or ideas you may have. Or, just reply to say hello.

For now, let's go...

• Recovery Optimism Building - While I learned long ago that hope is not a strategy, it's possible that rate cuts provide a much-needed tailwind to the multifamily sector. This survey from John Burns Consulting highlights multifamily as the CRE sector most likely to benefit from a decline in Fed Funds. Read more here: CRE Still Muted; Rate Cuts will Help Multifamily​

• ​Total Concentration This piece by Verdad Capital evaluates the perceived benefits (and potential risks) of a concentrated stock portfolio. As ever, you need skill to successfully run a concentrated portfolio. You don't do better just because you own fewer names. More generally, I'm increasingly concerned about the concentration of the S&P 500 Index and the trillions of retail investors who believe they own diversified exposure to the US market. Instead, they arguably own a concentrated large-cap growth fund primarily exposed to a single correlated driver (the AI theme). Oh, and because it's passive, this concentrated fund has zero alpha, by definition. Yes, that's been the right call, but I suspect it won't always be that easy. For more on this topic, see Apollo's Torsten Slok's AI Extreme Concentration Chart Book.

• "High Support. High Standards." I keep coming back to this clear framework I heard on this recent podcast with Alpha School founder Joe Liemandt. I highlighted the podcast in the last edition, but as time passes, this idea still resonates. Think about those mentors in your life who believed you could do more than you did, and then provided the support you needed to get there. Isn't that the essence of a great leader, teacher, manager, and parent? Where can you be that foundation of support for someone?
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• ​This hedge fund got a 10x return on AI In this post, Khe Hy, highlights a few examples of how some buy-side investors use AI today to drive massive gains in workflow efficiency. Khe recently came out of "semi-retirement" to offer AI consulting services to hedge funds and private equity firms. Let me know if you'd like a warm intro to learn more (nothing in it for me other than to support Khe and my network).

Small Sparks of Joy Sometimes it doesn't take much. Just over the past few days, I've felt a spark from each of the following:

• The Random Visit I love the last-minute call or text when an old friend lets me know they'll be coming through the Portland area. Last week, a friend and a two-time former colleague texted that he'd be in Brunswick "tomorrow" for a search and rescue dog seminar. Seriously. This friend is an investor with a wide range of fascinating outside interests. Quickly, we compared calendars and found 45 minutes the following day. We made it work. In between sips of beer, bites of pizza, and several laughs, we planted the seeds for a longer meetup this fall. What a great surprise.
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• A dad joke This one from E: "You should put an extra sock in your golf bag. Why? In case you get a hole-in-one." Joke courtesy of a super neat board in his kitchen that updates regularly. Bonus below.

• Craftsmanship On a very (too) quick trip to Toronto, I was struck by several small shops that delivered extraordinarily high-quality products and services. For example, I stopped by Wonderpens, my absolute favorite pen shop, to pick up a new notebook. The co-owner walked me through different paper options and helped find the perfect refill for my trusty Kaweco Al-Sport. And then, we visited Knife Toronto, where you can peruse dozens of knives and coffee grinders while waiting 10 minutes for a precision-crafted espresso hand-pulled from the only machine of its kind in North America.

And a Farewell Photo...

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