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.
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.
Marc O. DinesFamily Offices,Investment,Learnings,SustainabilityLife Perspectives,Stewardship
Why Most Family Offices Should Fail (And How to Build the Rare Exception) “Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man, but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity“ Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and philosopher (1795-1881) Unfinished portrait of Thomas Carlyle by John Everett Millais (1877). Source: National […]
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.
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.
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.
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, […]
Marc O. DinesAlternatives,Investment,Learnings,SustainabilityCross discipline,ESG & Sustainability,Private Markets,Public Markets
Studying both CFA and CAIA reveals how public and private markets complement each other. Learn about IRR illusions, benchmark thinking, and portfolio allocation insights from 20+ years of experience.
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.
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.
