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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.

I'm still trying to figure stuff out.

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Field Notes Edition #8

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.

Please share any feedback or ideas. Just hit reply.

Let's go...

• Alternative Investments in 401(k) The democratization of alternatives got a massive boost last week with an executive order paving the way to make these assets (private equity/credit, real estate, crypto) in retirement accounts. At a high level, this should be a good thing, allowing individuals the same diversification and return benefits enjoyed by institutional investors. In practice, I fear it will become a disaster for many uninformed investors reaching for aggressive returns. Do I hate how paternalistic that sounds? Yes. Still, I'm concerned and hope this change requires 401(k) plan administrators to provide appropriate educational resources and advice to participants. As clearly shown in the chart below, manager selection matters less in public markets (in blue at the far left), but it's everything in alternative assets (the rest of the chart bars). Can individual investors be expected to choose good managers? Seems like a lot. And if not, they might be better off in a broad-based public market index fund. Read more in this recent AGM Alts Weekly.

• What Would the Aftermath of the AI Bust Look Like? With massive AI investment now approaching 6% of GDP, this topic will continue to grab more attention. The telecom capex bubble of 2000 spawned silly startups that went to zero, but also enabled low-cost internet, which enabled new business models that transformed the world. What will the other side of the AI capex cycle look like? Byrne Hobart shares some initial thoughts in this Diff post.
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• Good Enough is Just Fine Lawrence Yeo offers some helpful thoughts on the persistent battle between high expectations and perfectionism. I love this framework: "Good Enough is when you know that the work isn’t perfect, but it still respects the intellect of your audience. It’s not exactly what you envisioned, but it’s still damn good enough to deserve their investment of attention." Read his essay here.

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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:

• Looking out the window at dinner and seeing the L.L. Bean Bootmobile drive by.
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• We planned to take a short evening boat cruise with a friend, and started speaking to the founder of Madeleine Point Oyster Farms, which led to a 90-minute tour of his farm, where we learned about oysters. Did you know oysters will remain fresh for several months if they're kept below 47 degrees? Or that oysters regularly change sex? Me neither.
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• And speaking of oysters, it's hard to beat a trip to Mere Point Oyster Co.'s floating food truck on summer Saturdays.
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• ​David Whyte, on the How I Write podcast, explains the value of memorizing poems (to have "this store within you") and shares Mary Oliver's "The Journey" flawlessly on the fly. Watch the video podcast snips here and here.
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• "Trust Loudly" - When you explicitly tell people you trust them, you strengthen relationships and encourage reciprocal trust. I loved this idea. Think Fast Talk Smart Podcast 158. Hope for Cynics: Building Trusting Relationships through Communication.​
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• Billions in AI investment yield some fun parlor tricks. I prompted ChatGPT to generate an image of what it thinks I look like based only on what it knows about me. I mean, I'd like to think it's not that far off. Thanks, E, for the idea.

And a Farewell Photo...

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