In one volume in the 30 volume set that makes up The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes lies practically everything you need to know about Keynes the investor. The entire volume is a collection of economic articles and correspondence, but it’s the first chapter that is the most informative.

That’s where you learn about his performance history both personal and professional, his economic views around some major historical events, and how he thought about investments and markets at the time.

The history alone makes it interesting. But because it’s Keynes, that chance to critique an economist’s investment performance makes it appealing on another level.

Arguably he makes it difficult to do. He didn’t have a great start but he learned quickly and finished strong…for the most part. His professional track record was great, running the Chest Fund and advising for two insurance companies and several investment trusts.

His personal account was easier to criticize, as the first lesson shows. Continue Reading…

After managing King’s College investment funds for almost 14 years, John Maynard Keynes decided to run a post-mortem on his investment results.

He had stats for three indexes and three other institutions to compare to his results. And he had a unique set of experiences to draw from thanks to shifting ideas on what a best investment policy should be.

The period he analyzed ran from January 1929 to December 1938. Despite the terrible starting point, the results were clear. Whatever he was doing, was working.

(Keynes managed The Chest and Fund B for the College shown in the image above.)

He relayed the lessons from his experiences and the post-mortem in a memo to the Estates Committee in May 1938. Continue Reading…