Thoughts from the Frontline

The Nature of Change

By John Mauldin

October 3, 2003

The Nature of Change
What Changes Can We Expect?
Change is Like a Train
My Congressional Testimony
Brother Iron, Sister Steel

"My interest is in the future, because I am going to spend the rest of my life there."
-- Charles F. Kettering

How well we deal with change is at the heart of the investment enterprise. I make a departure from our normal writing fare to think about the longer term future and some of the changes we will encounter. I speculate about the future of the investment business and what you will be faced with in a few years.

I have been thinking about change a great deal the past few months. I have been researching the academic literature on the psychology of investing for my book and the overwhelming conclusion that one is left with is how consistently the broad class of investors (which does not include you or me, of course) assume that the current trend will continue long into the future.

They may give lip service to believing…

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