Who is Our Man?
Our Man in NYC is a Brit, and as such you can expect proper spelling (the benefits of a classical education) in this blog, though his grammar is quite questionable. He has worked in the investment industry since college graduation (bar a brief period to acquire 3 additional letters, and enjoy the Manhattan that passed him by while working) but it's fair to say he's not really that important.
Is He in The Know?
Hah! Nope, he has no special knowledge that makes him "in the know". While by day he gets to talk about investments with far smarter people, by night he roams above the forest and lets his own random macro, thematic and inquisitive side wander. One of Our Man's key beliefs if that actually using your noggin to think for yourself is pretty under-rated and uncommon in the investment world. Then mix that together with some healthy skepticism and some rudimentary thoughts on behavioural finance/psychology, and "bob's your uncle"
Should I listen to him?
All opinions are OM's own, are not to be paid too much attention to, followed or even construed as the mildest of suggestions as to how you should invest. Listen to him if you find it helpful, ignore him if that's your wont...either way, you should note strongly that NOTHING on this blog is (or should be taken as) investment advice.
Why does he keep switching between 1st and 3rd person?
Our Man rather likes writing in the 3rd person, as a literary device to express his long-lost inner creative person. Sadly, I also find it rather weird to write in the 3rd person.
What's this blog all about then?
I find that writing down my ideas/thoughts helps me know what I think and I have exceptionally little faith that the vast majority of money managers will help compound my savings. As such, after getting married to Mrs OM, combining our various accounts, and much discussion; Mrs OM and I agreed to put a chunk of our savings into a brokerage account that I would manage. Given that neither of us are close to retirement the hope is that I will manage these funds for a prolonged period. Given that writing down my thoughts about macro things, and potential investments is something I've always found useful, we felt (read: Our Man was told) it made sense to make sure that I write about ideas before investing in them (so I can go back, and see why I was wrong rather than use some revisionist history) as well as expressing my thoughts on portfolio management and other related things (possibly extending, if you're unlucky, to the Mets, NY Giants, Georgetown Basketball, AFC Wimbledon, Arsenal and cricket!)
So this isn't a paper portfolio then?
Nope, I've never seen the point of them since they cannot replicate the emotional side of investing and how one deals with it. The portfolio described represents how I'm managing a small amount of OM (and Mrs OM's) savings.
Can I get in contact with Our Man?
Of course you can, just drop me an email at: ourmaninnyc (at) gmail,com
