Lab Notes.
Research, observations, and practical explanations of the investment concepts that influence how portfolios are built and managed.
Recent research & education.
Free Cash Flow: The Lifeblood of Any Business
Understand Free-Cash-Flow and the inplications it has for the current and future health of companies.
Read Article →The Four Places Your Old 401(k) Could Be Hiding
A practical guide to tracking down an old 401(k) by identifying the four most likely places it may have moved: your former employer’s plan, a successor plan after a merger or acquisition, an automatic rollover IRA, or a terminated or abandoned plan.
Read Article →Great Expectations
Why exceptional business performance does not always translate into exceptional stock returns—and how valuation, expectations, and the price you pay can determine the outcome.
Read Article →Bond Math 101: Why Rising Interest Rates Can Hurt Bond Prices
Bonds may be called fixed income, but their market values are not fixed. Learn why bond prices generally fall when interest rates rise, how duration measures interest-rate sensitivity, and why traditional bond ETFs can behave differently from individual bonds.
Read Article →The Deception of Market Averages
Two portfolios can report the same average annual return and leave investors with very different amounts of money. A look at volatility, losses, and why geometric returns matter when measuring wealth creation.
Read Article →Investment decisions become easier to evaluate when you understand the mechanics.
Investment terminology can sometimes make relatively straightforward concepts appear more complicated than they are.
Lab Notes focuses on the underlying mechanics: how an investment works, where the risks come from, what variables matter, and how those pieces interact within a broader portfolio.
What we write about.
Research is more useful when you can apply it to your own portfolio.
See how concentration, historical drawdowns, investment expenses, overlapping holdings, and other risk factors may affect the portfolio you already own.
Analyze Your PortfolioLab Notes is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Content should not be construed as individualized investment, tax, or legal advice or as a recommendation to purchase or sell any security. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.