Russia Sanctions: Q&A and Resources

The Russia sanctions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine in February have created confusion in the market. These sanctions are the first to affect many publicly traded equities on US and European Exchanges in recent memory. I am writing a Q&A today covering the mechanics of what is happening from my perspective.

The Castaway’s 2021 Log and 3 Investing Goals for 2022

It’s that exciting time of year after taking stock of 2021. Hopefully, we’re all a little wiser and still motivated to improve and set up new investing goals. Markets-wise, 2021 was probably a better year than 2020 for most. There was no massive drawdown at the beginning of the year, and fiscal and monetary policies were accommodative and in sync through most of the year.

Still, there is room for improvement. I have spent the past couple of weeks reviewing my performance, trades, and journal entries from last year to better understand what went right, where I messed up, and how I can do it better in 2022. Hopefully, sharing this exercise can inspire and motivate you to consider similar practices.

A Survey of Capital Controls and Black Market FX: A Refresher for Developed Market Investors

For this first February post, I am stepping back to cover a broader topic important for international investors to understand. We will talk about FX regimes, capital controls, and black market FX—parallel market foreign exchange in PC lingo. Few investors from the US or Europe born after 1980 have never had to deal with the uncertainty surrounding foreign exchange rules, buying, or selling international securities. The dollar has been floating since 1971, and although many European countries have switched from Francs, Lira and D-Marks to Euros, the rules have been pretty straightforward. We’ll let our currency float and occasionally talk it down (rarely up) if it appreciates (depreciates) too much.