The Age of Dis-Enlightenment
Brett S. ChappellAI,LearningsEmotions,Rational thought
The Enlightenment asked whether a claim could be supported. The Dis-Enlightenment increasingly asks how the claim makes us feel.
Brett S. Chappell
Putting the Band Together, Not the Algo
Brett S. ChappellAI,Learnings,Uncategorized#BBKing,#Hiring,#TeamCulture,AI,Leadership,Life Perspectives
In an age when AI can polish every CV, leadership is still about knowing who can actually play in the band.
Bespoke Conformity
Brett S. ChappellAlternatives,Family OfficesAsset Management,Behavioral Finance,Hipster Effect
Finance has its own version of the hipster effect: everybody wants differentiated insight, yet many end up sounding remarkably alike. A strange story about mistaken identity becomes an unexpectedly useful metaphor for modern investment culture.
The pipes, they are a changin’
Brett S. ChappellAI,InvestmentAI Infratsructure,Credit Markets,Fixed Income,Infrastructure Finance,Market Structure
The largest AI infrastructure deal in history was not funded by banks. It was absorbed by the buy side. That shift tells you more about the market than the technology itself.
AI Can Now Detect Gaslighting and Narcissism. That’s Progress. It’s Also a Risk.
Brett S. ChappellAIArtificial Intelligence,behavioral analysis,Digital Forensics,Gaslighting,Narcissism
AI can now flag gaslighting and narcissism in your messages. It still cannot tell the difference between abuse and irony.
Podcast: Are Family Offices the Answer to Unmet Sustainability?
In March, 2026 Brett S. Chappell sat down with Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson, CFA, and Filipe Albuquerque from Stockholm-based Nordsip to talk about family offices and sustainability investments. If you have 35 minutes and want to learn more, then please tune in to this episode of ESGpresso. The spoken language is English. Links:Spotify / Apple Podcasts
The World Is Not Static
Brett S. ChappellLearnings#Adaptation,#FamilyOffice,#LongTermThinking,#PlanetarySystems
The Earth operates on longer cycles than we do. Deserts expand and recede. Seas disappear and return. Even Polaris is temporary. Stewardship demands we plan accordingly.
The Opportunity Cost of Not Answering the Question
Brett S. ChappellLearningsBusiness,Communication,Customer Experience,Leadership,Life Perspectives,Sales
“When a potential client asks a direct question, answer it directly. Even if the response is not known, answering I do not know is acceptable…. It is also acceptable to say no.”
The Scale Problem With Space
Brett S. ChappellLearningsAstronomy,Astrophysics,Perspective,Scale,Science,space
What looks close in the night sky almost never is. The Moon, the Sun, and even the nearest stars are separated by distances that defy everyday experience. Using a simple scale model, this piece explores how far “far away” really is, and why space stops being something you can walk through or draw long before you reach the stars.
When Banks Try to Be ETF Hosts, the Margins Usually Win
Brett S. ChappellAlternatives,Investment,LearningsAsset Management,Capital Markets,etfs,financial infrastructure,Market Structure
The most important development is not that banks are stepping back. It is who is stepping forward.
Greenland: A Controlled Experiment in Collapse
Brett S. ChappellLearnings,SustainabilityArctic History,Climate Adaptation,Cultural Adaptation,Environmental Lessons,Greenland,Historical Collapse,Inuit History,Jared Diamond,Little Ice Age,Medieval History,Societal Resilience,Stewardship,Sustainable History,Viking History
Twenty years ago I read Jared Diamond’s Collapse. The story of Norse Greenland still matters because it shows how societies rarely fail suddenly. They fail slowly, through reasonable decisions that no longer fit a changing world.
Is Trump Governing Like a Socialist?
Brett S. ChappellInvestment,LearningsEconomic Policy,Market Structure,Political Economy
Comparisons between Trump and Bernie Sanders are increasingly common. This piece steps away from rhetoric and examines specific executive actions to assess whether recent economic policy relies more on administrative direction than on market pricing and private decision making.
When the Reserve Asset Changes, the Bond Markets Notice First
Brett S. ChappellInvestment,LearningsBond Markets,Central Banking,Exchange Rates,Fixed Income,Global Markets,Institutional Credibility,Market Structure,Monetary Policy,Sovereign Debt,Term Premium,U.S. Treasuries,Yield Curve
Bretton Woods anchored money to convertibility. The post-1971 system anchored it to credibility. Today, exchange rates and balance sheet policy are increasingly part of the same surface, and the bond market is where those pressures first become visible. The long end is no longer just pricing inflation. It is pricing institutional discipline.
SFDR 2.0 and the Repricing of Sustainability
Brett S. ChappellInvestment,Learnings,SustainabilityAsset Management,Capital Allocation,Corporate Issuers,Debt Capital Markets,ESG Investing,Fixed Income,Long-Term Investing,Market Structure,SFDR,Stewardship,Sustainable Bonds,Sustainable Finance,Transition Finance
Europe has simplified the rules. The question is whether capital will follow credibility instead of labels. A Reset in Market Signals Europe is rewriting how sustainability shows up in financial products. Article 8 and 9 labels are being retired. Three new categories take their place: Sustainable, Transition, and ESG Basics. The stated goal is clarity, […]
Between Solar Storms and Space Junk: Why We Need to Rethink How We Fund the Stewardship of Space
Brett S. ChappellInvestment,Learnings,SustainabilityESG Innovation,LEO Bonds,Orbital Debris,Space Stewardship,Sustainable Finance,The Thoughtful Steward
We rely on a layer of digital scaffolding in orbit, and that scaffolding is vulnerable to forces we barely understand and cannot predict with precision. Just because we cannot see the risks above us does not mean they are not real.
When a Tip Is Not a Tip: How Service Charges Lost Their Meaning
Brett S. ChappellLearningsLife Perspectives
A tip is a message of thanks. A charge is a matter of accounting. When the two become indistinguishable, the meaning collapses.