I have been writing Above the Market for three years as of today: August 1, 2014. I began and still write largely to clarify my own thinking and to force and enforce commitment on my part. Actual readers are a lovely bonus I didn’t expect when I started. Nearly 900 posts and now, well over half a million readers later, I remain astonished at the level of interest Above the Market has received — it is far beyond what I thought possible, much less likely. According to analytics powered by BrightScope, ATM is the #7 advisor blog in terms of readership and influence. Who’d-a-thunk-it? I appreciate each and every reader. Anyone who writes wants to be read most of all.
As always, a few people deserve special mention and thanks.
Tom Brakke (his terrific blog is The Research Puzzle) generously offered outstanding help and guidance before I even had any readers to speak of and continues to offer wise counsel whenever I ask. Tadas Viskanta provided my first distribution (exactly one month in) to the expert community he serves via his blog, Abnormal Returns, which remains the standard for its type. Joe Calhoun upped my exposure tremendously via Real Clear Markets. I am grateful and humbled to be featured often at both of those excellent sites.
According to Investment News, Above the Market is a blog “for all financial advisers to follow.” Thank you, Michael Kitces, for saying so. Financial Planning, the CFA Institute, Financial Social Media, Inomics, Insider Monkey and even The Irish Times have honored Above the Market as among the best of its type anywhere. Wade Pfau has been a great help too (be sure to read his blog and his site if you don’t already). Thanks also to some of the “big boys” (of both sexes) for help and encouragement or for simply liking or linking my work (Jason Zweig, Cullen Roche, Carl Richards, Christine Benz and Barry Ritholtz, among others). Special thanks too to my firm for encouraging this endeavor.
My “top ten” posts this year, based upon reader numbers, follow in order of popularity. I hope you will give them a look (or another look).
- Investing Successfully is Really Hard
- A Short Introduction to Investing (in 400 words)
- The Tragedy of Errors
- Something Wicked This Way Comes
- Missed It By *This* Much
- We Are Less Than Rational
- Five Stinkin’ Feet
- Get Real
- Active Management Required
- The Culture of Charade
My all-time “top ten” posts, again based upon reader numbers, follow in order or popularity. I hope you’ll check them out (or check them out again).
- Investors’ 10 Most Common Behavioral Biases
- Financial Advice: A Top Ten List
- Establishing Your Top 10 Investment Default Settings
- My Investing Checklist
- Math Suckage and Dave Ramsey
- Top Ten Ways to Deal with Behavioral Biases
- Investing Successfully is Really Hard
- Saving Investors From Themselves
- We Suck at Probabilities
- Is the Yale Model Past It?
Finally, I’d like to focus on the following “not top ten” posts that didn’t get nearly as much attention — sometimes because they appeared before I had many readers — but which I think are worth reading. I encourage you to check them out.
- Beguiled By Narrative
- Financial Products are Sold, Not Bought
- It’s Not You, It’s Me
- Just Put the Ball in Play
- Gaming the System
- The Semmelweis Reflex
- Bias Blindness and Political Polarization
- Demand for Hitmen and Yield
- Luck, Skill and Jim Harbaugh
- Librarius Booker, Confabulation and Choice Blindness
To everyone who has read, supported and helped me with this effort: Thank You! I hope three years leads to many more.
Above the Market 