What Does the Spoon in the Matrix Movie Have To Do With Value Investing?

Part I - The Early Cracks

Remember the wise observation made by James Grant, an American writer who has a knack for blending history and finance:

Progress is cumulative in science and engineering, but cyclical in finance.

Guess what? We couldn’t agree more! Right now it feels like we are in a downcycle when it comes to the public’s understanding of finance. 

How did we end up here? Well, we believe the culprit is the lack of consensus on the definition of investing. If only we could all get on the same page! Fear not, though, we are on a mission to build that consensus, and we’ve set our sights on an ambitious target date of 2027. 

Now, you might wonder, why is there such a lack of consensus in the first place? And how did it get worse over time? Did Ben Graham, the GOAT in finance, not educate us enough? 

Well, Graham actually did a stellar job, and that’s where the conundrum lies. 

Yesterday, we dropped three clues as to what the turning point might have been. So now, let’s add some cinematic flavor with one of our favorite movie scenes: 

After you’ve experienced this memorable scene, we will then spill the beans on what we believe the turning point was that led to this financial conundrum.