“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.” — T.S. Eliot.
I won’t pretend I can improve upon the words of T.S. Eliot, but perhaps he’s right, and we’ll hear from another voice in 2026. Otherwise, you’re stuck with me.
[Note: that’s an open call to any of my colleagues who would like to make a guest appearance…anyone, anyone? Impressively, the astute comments of Ben Stein in the previous hyperlinks, from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, really hold up in this modern-day world of the US Gov’t reembracing tariffs.]
Before we get to next year, tradition is calling. With another year of reflections, random thoughts, tributes, and – hopefully – even some insights on alternative investments behind us, the time for our fifth annual summary is now upon us: welcome to the Alt Blend 2025 Indextravaganza. Here we go!
AI-Yai-Yai Series: Alt Blend Editions 105-108 (2/26/25 thru 4/9/25)
Exploring Artificial Intelligence and how I could potentially embrace it to help with aspects of my life. Spoiler alert: almost a year later, I haven’t yet figured that out, but there is some promise on the horizon.
- AI-Yai-Yai – Part 1: Some aspects of life have surely improved already due to AI and technology, and we probably take it for granted; optimism about areas where AI may be helpful.
- AI-Yai-Yai – Part 2: Training: Learning some basics of training AI and test-driving different solutions to understand some nuances/differences between them.
- AI-Yai-Yai – Part 3: Practical Applications: Exploring some areas where AI promises to help in our daily lives, and where we may end up interfacing with it through no choice of our own.
- AI-Yai-Yai – Part 4: Em-AI-I Fail: My real-time attempt to utilize AI for better email habits. As the title suggests, it didn’t go well for me.
Fixin’ the Grid-E Series: Alt Blend Editions 109-110 (5/14/25 thru 5/28/25)
Using a touchdown dance as a jumping-off point to learning more about the electrical grid and how we may be able to improve it.
- Fixin’ the Grid-E – Part 1: Overview of how the US electrical grid works, along with some current threats, and opportunities for improvement.
- Fixin’ the Grid-E – Part 2: Some ideas for how the robustness of the grid can be increased.
The Passive Alternative Series: Alt Blend Editions 111-113 (6/11/25 thru 7/9/25)
Exploring higher-yielding dividend growth (HYDG) as an alternative to passive investing.
- The Passive Alternative – Part 1: Why higher-yielding dividend growth may be a better long-term investment approach than the passive indexing so many people resort to.
- The Passive Alternative – Part 2: Putting past returns and long-term compounding of HYDG in perspective, both of which offer advantages vs. passive indexing.
- The Passive Alternative – Part 3: Considering the pragmatic utility of HYDG but also why everyone doesn’t use it as a core investment strategy.
Private credit, evolution of alts structures, and NFTs: Alt Blend Editions 114-115 (7/23/25 thru 8/6/25)
The lines between public and private investments are becoming increasingly blurry, and technology will continue to enhance how investments are made.
- Convergence: Private Credit Roundup: Private Credit structures are now available to more investors, and that’s not new. What is new is Private Credit entering the investment-grade bond space and potentially trading more like bonds.
- NiFTy: Remember non-fungible tokens (NFTs)? While the hype has evaporated, they remain quietly relevant in technological infrastructure, and tokenization is still expected to become a more significant part of our lives.
Brush. Rinse? Repeat: Alt Blend Editions 116-121 (8/20/25 thru 10/29/25)
My trip to the dentist turns into a 6-part series on common investment practices and perspectives that are worth some reflection (and perhaps abandonment).
- Rinse? Repeat – Part 1: Reasons you probably shouldn’t reduce risk (more bonds, fewer stocks) going into retirement or keep multiple financial advisors.
- Rinse? Repeat – Part 2: Revisiting the 4% rule and the oft-overlooked portfolio construction tradeoffs of passive indexing.
- Rinse? Repeat – Part 3: Portfolio needs may drive investment selection through desired characteristics, which vary across private and public markets.
- Rinse? Repeat – Part 4: A reminder not to chase yield! And examining the performance of different credit structures in various rate environments.
- Rinse? Repeat – Part 5: Diving deeper into Private Equity (PE) to separate often outdated negative headline fiction from the modern realities of quality managers and deal specifics.
- Rinse? Repeat – Part 6: The Continuing with PE, looking at the evolution of the space, and a hypothetical example to see how a PE manager may structure a deal, and more specifically, how they might improve an acquired company to increase value. Hint: it’s not just leverage.
The Blockchain Cometh: Alt Blend Editions 122-123 (11/13/25 thru 12/2/25)
A tribute to Ozzy Osbourne as a jumping-off point for blockchain and crypto updates.
- The Blockchain Cometh – Part 1: Greater prevalence of cryptocurrency, regulatory clarity, and blockchain utilization have transpired since our last update in early 2024; digital asset treasuries (DATs) and digital assets as part of corporate treasury strategies.
- The Blockchain Cometh – Part 2: How AI agents may work on our behalf, and how integration with the blockchain and payments technologies could result in each of us having a personal crew acting on our behalf in the digital world, buying, selling, negotiating, and accomplishing other tasks. But could quantum computing mean an end to the blockchain as we know it?
THANK YOU for being part of another year of Alt Blend! As in years past, I hope you learned something useful and that it continues to be part of your ongoing education. Please let me know if you have any feedback on how this blog can be more valuable to you, 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 2026!
Thanks for reading,
Steve
