Written by: Adrienne Martin
These are strange times, indeed. With so much extra time at home, we were wondering what our fellow Agili teammates were listening to, reading and watching in recent weeks. We were curious about what industry-related content they recommended as well as what books, blogs and shows they enjoy just for fun. And we thought our clients would be interested as well! (We’ve made it easy for you to check out our favorites by including links to everything.)
What We’re Listening to:
Masters in Business: This is a long-form interview podcast with fascinating guests from finance, academia, and business. Many recent guests have unique perspectives on the impact of the coronavirus and monetary and fiscal policy on the markets, the economy, real estate and more. (Recommended by Investment Analyst, Conor Clark, and Financial Strategist, Dan Honsberger.)
What We’re Reading:
Behavior Gap: Carl Richards creates simple sketches to make complex financial concepts understandable. Follow him on Twitter too (@behaviorgap). (Recommended by Financial Planning Analyst, Jennifer Pieson.)
Bloomberg Opinion column by Michael Lewis: The author of Moneyball, The Big Short, et al., writes very interesting and thought provoking COVID-19-related columns every one-two weeks. (Recommended by Investment Analyst, Conor Clark.)
Electronic Estate Planning in Uncertain Times: This article for Wealth Management magazine describes how estate planning has become increasingly electronic during the days of social distancing. Electronic wills, witnessing and e-notarization are becoming the new norm. (Recommended by Financial Strategist, Carrie Fellon.)
Marketwatch: An informative website, owned by Dow Jones, with stories tracking each sector of the markets. (Recommended by Financial Strategist, Sarah Caine.)
One Up on Wall Street: Written by renowned mutual fund manager, Peter Lynch, this book highlights principles of investing, focusing especially on stock picking. (Recommended by Portfolio/Investment Administrator, JT Beck.)
Reformed Broker: Blog by Josh Brown, about politics, economics, media, culture and finance. (Recommended by Jennifer Pieson.)
What We’re Watching:
As usual, we’re watching CNBC. And, of course, Agili’s Chief Operating Officer, Cindy Joyce is watching the Pennsylvania and Virginia Governor Press Conferences to stay on top of the news and coronavirus developments in both Commonwealths.
Personal Interest/Non-Fiction:
Grant by Ron Chernow: A timely read about Grant guiding the country through not just the crisis of the Civil War, but also post-war reconstruction. In both war and politics, he led with humility and empathy, but when ready to move, acted with confidence and decisiveness. He didn’t always make the right decision initially, but was good about quickly learning from mistakes and making adjustments. (Recommended by Dan Honsberger.)
A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Towards What Matters, by Steven C. Hayes, the founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). A core idea of ACT is learning to develop a different sort of relationship with one’s own mind. Rather than focusing on learning how to counter-argue against one’s own irrationalities, as previous therapies emphasize, the focus is on learning how not to take one’s own irrational thoughts so seriously and instead focusing on taking action in service of personal values. (Recommended by Financial Planning Analyst, Elissa Wurf, who has a PhD in psychology.)
For Fun:
Nearly everyone on the Agili team was raving about the new season of Ozark on Netflix as we closed out a recent Monthly Company Update meeting. Of course, we’re using it as a case study of what NOT to do in the finance industry. We have absolutely nothing in common with Marty Byrde!
Novels we’ve read during the pandemic and recommend include: American Dirt, The Hideaway, The Nightingale, The Other Family, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Programs and movies we’ve streamed and enjoy include: Betting on Zero, Breaking Bad, Dead to Me, Emma, and Homeland.
Livestreamed archival concert series we like are: Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Stream” and Phish’s “Dinner and a Movie”
We thoroughly enjoyed gathering this list of industry-related and fun content from your team at Agili!