Ben Carlson on Inflation, Investing, and Why Less Is More

Investing success relies on simple, rules-based strategies rather than searching for a "holy grail" or complex market-beating techniques. Private equity often presents operational challenges and illiquidity that make it unsuitable for most individual investors, who are better served by indexing. Bonds remain essential for diversification, though investors must look beyond traditional total bond market funds to include cash equivalents or short-term TIPS when interest rates rise. Inflation hedging is best achieved through career growth, fixed-rate mortgages, and long-term stock market exposure. While direct indexing and tax-loss harvesting offer potential after-tax alpha, these complex strategies require careful cost-benefit analysis and are often best reserved for specific, high-gain situations. Ultimately, maintaining a long-term perspective and avoiding the urge to constantly monitor portfolio fluctuations prevents the emotional pitfalls of loss aversion.