Prospective clients are sometimes surprised when I tell them we invest in mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds). Some think we are stock pickers because Josh is on point in discussing companies on CNBC. Others have enjoyed outsized returns in large cap growth darlings Apple, Amazon, or Facebook. But a third group, those with more…

I remember the first time I sat through a product pitch I could not understand. It was a sales presentation for the equity tranche of a subprime mortgage CDO (collateralized debt obligation) back in 2007. You may have read about these products, and how they almost brought down the global financial system. This pitch was garbage, to put it…