Perspectives
Damn Lies and Statistics
March, 2024
That eminent thinker Homer J Simpson once noted that, “you can prove anything with statistics, 14% of all people know that!” Disraeli placed statistics below “lies and damn lies” in his hierarchy of mendacity whilst Darell Huff, back in the 1950s, wrote the canonical introduction for students, notably entitling it, “How to Lie with Statistics.” […]
Are things really so different?
March, 2024
Every generation believes that they have it worse than their predecessors. This is a human trait which focuses on the problems with the here and now, rather than comparing today’s issues with the issues of the past for context. Crudely put, is living in a house with two plus bathrooms today really worse than having […]
Bias
March, 2024
An opinion can cloud good judgment because it introduces bias into a decision-making process. When someone holds a strong opinion about a particular topic, they may become emotionally attached to that viewpoint, making it difficult for them to objectively evaluate information or consider alternative perspectives. This emotional attachment can lead to cognitive biases, such as […]
Value is in the eye of the beholder
March, 2024
At Tacit we have maintained a focus on valuations throughout our 14 years of investing, as overpaying for assets can lead to significant losses. At times in the market cycle, we have had a bias towards companies that do not trade at expensive multiples, referred to as Value Investing, especially when we believe markets are […]
Actively inactive
February, 2024
We’re often asked why we don’t make more changes to our strategies. It’s a fair question and in a world where activity is tracked second by second this may look like we’re busy doing nothing. But our view is that a considered decision not to change holdings is every bit as valid as one to […]
A Capital Endeavour
February, 2024
In the 19th century, at the peak of Empire, Great Britain was simultaneously the “workshop of the world” and banker to the world. Immediately prior to the explosive demolition of Edwardian gentility in the trenches of the 1St World War, it is estimated that 50% of the capital invested throughout the world had been raised […]
Lifestyling: It’s a Risky Business
February, 2024
“And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” Few of us these days wear “slipper’d pantaloon,” but we still play a variety of roles as we travel through life: the dependent child, the lingering teenager, the thrusting entrepreneur, the stressed-out parent, and the grateful grandparent. Each of those roles […]
AI: Machine Learning
January, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most searched for terms on the internet over the past year. In reality most people do not really understand what AI actually is, other than the fear of what we may have seen in sci-fi movies such as iRobot. There are distinctly different technological developments at play […]
Cashflow Comes in Many Forms and Sizes
January, 2024
The Tacit investment process is biassed towards companies that exhibit strong cash flows and can grow these cash flows irrespective of the economic environment which prevails globally. This approach can lead investors towards defensive and dull companies which do not rely on strong economic growth for their business models to increase cash flows year on […]
Back to Basics
January, 2024
It is, perhaps, hard to believe that the 5-year anniversary of the Covid pandemic will occur later this year. The clue is to be found in the number 19 since novel viruses are named after their year of discovery. The full economic ramifications of that period, bound up as it is with Brexit and the […]