The purpose of investing

In this episode of "Short Briefings on Long Term Thinking," Malcolm Borthwick interviews Stuart Dunbar, a partner at Baillie Gifford, about the purpose of investing and the short-term focus of the investment industry. Dunbar argues that the industry has strayed from its primary goal of deploying capital wisely into projects that generate long-term positive returns, instead focusing on outsmarting other investors in the stock market. He critiques the proliferation of stock indices and the over-reliance on financial theories that don't apply in the real world. Dunbar also discusses the active versus passive investment debate, advocating for "actual investing" which prioritizes wealth creation, capital deployment, and long-term thinking, and he touches on how technological advancements and collaboration with academic institutions inform their research and investment strategies.