I’ve been reading through the annual meeting speeches John Maynard Keynes made during his tenure at National Mutual Life Assurance Society. Several things stood out like his views on the U.S. leading up to and after the ’29 crash or his hot takes on the global economy and how to fix the issues of the time.

Another thing that stood out was how things have not changed much over the years. Sure, it’s easier to invest. It’s cheaper. We have more choices.

But the issues he dealt with and decisions he made are no different than today: things like stocks or bonds, home or foreign, short or long term, and more. And his thoughts on some of those issues are no different than what other great investors repeat all the time: Continue Reading…

John Maynard Keynes became the acting Chairman of National Mutual Life Assurance Society in 1921 until his resignation in 1938. Each year, an annual meeting was held in London, where Keynes spoke at length about National Mutual, among other topics.

The time period makes it unique. Britain was recovering from World War I. Markets in Britain and the U.S. were changing. Then the ’29 Crash and Great Depression hit. Of course, we all know how that turned out.

But Keynes didn’t. His speeches offer not only his annual assessment of the events but his thoughts on National Mutual’s investment policy in the midst of it all.

Luckily, The Times of London printed his speeches in full after each annual meeting.

In the very first speech, Keynes lays out the difficulties of investing in an environment with a growing list of new investment “opportunities” and the importance of having an investment policy. Continue Reading…