The 2024 Indextravaganza!

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin

For all those who just got excited by the above quote because they thought they could upgrade their love interest every year, I’m sorry to rain on your parade. Jokes aside, may we all strive to become better all the time. Only by focusing on improvement daily will we be able to reflect on the year that was and feel good about our level of self-improvement.

And, with Ben Franklin’s wisdom in mind, it’s once again the holiday season and, thus, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the fourth annual summary of everything we’ve covered over the past 12 months, aka the Alt Blend 2024 Indextravaganza! Here we go!

Impa-Structure Series: Alt Blend Editions 80-83 (1/17/24 thru 2/28/24)

Contemplating a framework for thinking about impact investing (aka “impa-structure”), why it’s an exercise riddled with tradeoffs, and how infrastructure may fit nicely into one’s approach.

  1. Impa-Structure – Part 1: The Why: A note on healthy living to start the new year, and reconsidering what you believe your core values. 2024’s TBG theme of “What’s Your Why?”
  2. Impa-Structure – Part 2: It’s Gray: Rather than ESG or SRI, impact investing is likely better defined as focusing on human flourishing. More on values, and an example of the gray areas when it comes to attempting to measure impact.
  3. Impa-Structure – Part 3: Actions: Contemplating the impact of our actions, with a fun detour on some of my shortcomings. Is infrastructure the ultimate impact investment?
  4. Impa-Structure – Part 4: Infrastructure: Shoutout to Newark, NJ. Infrastructure investing as a means to magnify our impact on the world, how vital it is to human flourishing, and how you’re likely doing this already.

Spring into Financial Planning Alt Blend Editions 84-86 (3/13/24 thru 4/10/24)

Revisiting financial planning and the vital strategies for long-term success, which – of course – includes Dividend Growth and Alts, in my view.

  1. Al Gore Rhythm: Introducing “The big idea and why it matters,” inspired by the audiobook, Smart Brevity. The importance of having a process for financial planning and where Alts fit in.
  2. What’s In the Box?: Income growth AND price appreciation as the holy grail of tools for long-term financial planning success. Why those characteristics are important, where we may find such things (hint: Dividend Growth and Alts), and perspective on the traditional “60/40.”
  3. Behind the Façade: Fake monks, and the what & why of private credit (my favorite).

Tipping the Scale Series: Alt Blend Editions 87-89 (4/24/24 thru 5/22/24)

Revisiting crypto for the latest haps in that extremely dynamic realm of modern times…and saying farewll to Dickie Betts (tear). 

  1. Tipping the Scale – Crypto Updates, Part 1: Ethereum’s “merge,” the promise of layer-2 scaling, Bitcoin’s Lightning, and some related challenges.
  2. Tipping the Scale – Crypto Updates, Part 2: RIP Dickie Betts, the importance of “Awe” in our lives, crypto channels, the 4th Bitcoin halving (!), and some perspective on Bitcoin’s price.
  3. Tipping the Scale – Crypto Updates, Part 3: Going deeper into layer-2s (sidechains and valadiums), how prevalent blockchain and Web 3 may be, and the energy problem.

The Unofficial Summertime to Opine: Alt Blend Editions 90-96 (6/5/24 thru 8/28/24)

Alts are typically better left to professionals. Reflecting on your investment strategy. Evolution of technology and BDCs. A look back on venture/private investing and its importance.

  1. Let’s Be Real: Neighbor-inspired edition on why direct real estate investment is NOT a) magic, b) easy or c) for the faint of heart. Related cautionary tales.
  2. Growth Mindset – Part 1: If you want to ruin people’s lives, tell them they’re smart. The importance of having a sound process (…and, sorry, but hope, avoidance, and market timing don’t qualify).
  3. Growth Mindset – Part 2: What “eggs in one basket” means and doesn’t mean. Simply “spreading out” one’s portfolio is far from a sound investment plan.
  4. Summer Jam – Same Old Dog, New Tricks: New ways of doing old things, like investing in whiskey, tokenization of real estate, and using ourselves as passwords.
  5. Perpetual Biz Dev: An overview of BDCs (business development companies), the positive evolution of BDCs , where they fit in to the Alts world, and where they don’t.
  6. For-Profit Charity?: A brief and fascinating history of Silicon Valley and its residual employment effect. Can we invest for profit AND be charitable at the same time, and is the impact of VC investors underappreciated in society?
  7. Fender Blender: A brief and fascinating history of the electric guitar, respect for Leo Fender and Les Paul. The long road of private equity (PE), and leveraged buyouts (LBOs) as PE’s “solid body electric guitar” moment. PE saves Gibson guitars.

Hacked!: Alt Blend Editions 97-99 (9/11/24 thru 10/9/24)

A massive data breach as an opportunity to focus on making ourselves and our portoflios more robust.

  1. Hacked! – Part 1: The National Public Data breach. Antifragility vs. robustness and some precautionary measures you can take to protect yourself.
  2. Hacked! – Part 2: Portfolio robustness. Volatility and portfolio impairment matter!
  3. Hacked! – Part 3: The “old” waterfall approach to retirement income, and why I think we can do better. Planning and income alignment as a means to increase both antifragility and robustness.

Turning 100 and Navigating the End of 2024: Alt Blend Editions 100-103 (10/23/24 thru 12/4/24)

The milestone of turning 100, back to the basics, focusing on what’s really important, and some potential tradeoffs of otherwise helpful housing solutions.

  1. Not 100%: Alt Blend turns 100! Contemplating this milestone and how the world and Alts have evolved since the first edition back in October of 2020, and much gratitude for it all.
  2. Alts 101: The 101 freeway, general highway/byway trivia, and revisiting Alts basics.
  3. What I Got: My wife and sister-in-law’s favorite all-time edition of Alt Blend! A look back at the importance of Sublime, putting the recent election and inflation spike in perspective, and focusing on what’s most important.
  4. Palisades Park: Oldies, trolley parks, amusement parks, and the interesting housing solution (light-touch density, or LTD, zoning) case study that is Palisades Park, NJ – which happens to be directly across the street from our new home.

THANK YOU for being part of another year of Alt Blend! I hope you learned something useful (amidst what at times amounts to rambling nonsense), and it is even a small part of helping you to be a better version of yourself going into the new year. Please let me know of any feedback, how this blog can be more useful, and any future topics you’d like me to explore.

Until next year, this is the end of Alt Blend. Happy Holidays! See you in 2025!

Thanks for reading,

Steve

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About the Author

Steven Tresnan, CAIA®, CFP®

Private Wealth Advisor

Steve is a Certified Financial Planner as well as a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst®. He is also an Accredited Investment Fiduciary, which helps him offer guidance to clients with fiduciary responsibilities, such as board members of trusts, foundations, and endowments. Steve earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University.

Steve serves on the board and finance committee of New Music USA – a national nonprofit devoted to the development and appreciation of new music in the U.S.

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