Why Tactical Asset Allocation is a Not a Smart Idea: Chart

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One of the key strategies for success with investing is the simple task of diversification. I have written many times in this blog that diversification is the easiest way to reduce risk and improve returns. Diversification over various asset classes is one way to implement diversification in a portfolio. The following chart shows the importance of diversification using returns from the UK market as published by Vanguard:

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Source: Vanguard UK

The Top 10 Restaurants by U.S. Revenue 2022

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The Subway fast food chain is to be sold to Roark Capital for $9.6 billion according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. Subway is the eighth largest chain the US based on revenue in the US market in 2022.

The top restaurant chain in terms of US revenue is McDonald’s (MCD). While Starbucks (SBUX) at number two is not surprising, Chick-fil-A taking the third spot is indeed surprising.

All the top 10 companies listed above are established players with billions in revenue. It remains to be seen if any of the smaller startup chains such as Sweetgreen (SG) and others can join this elite group.

Source: Subway Sandwich Chain Nears Sale, WSJ

Disclosure: No positions

Homicide Rate in South America: Chart

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In an earlier post we looked at the homicide rate in the US and Europe. In this post, let’s take a quick look at the homicide rate in South America. Globally countries in the continent are not known for low homicides. Homicides rates in South America are very high relative to the rates in Europe and the USA.

The highest rates are in Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. The lowest homicide rate is in Chile followed by Argentina.

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Source: Landgeist

Homicide Rate in USA vs. Europe

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The homicide rate in the US is high compared to European countries. In this post, let’s take review the how they compare. Though both are part of the developed world the homicide rate vary significantly between them. It is beyond the scope of this post to discuss why they vary so much.

The following charts show age-standardized homicide rate per 100,000 people.

Homicide Rate in the USA:

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Homicide Rate in Europe:

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Source: Homicide Rate in Europe and Homicide in the US, Landgeist

A few observations:

  • The state with the highest homicide rate is Mississippi at 20.5 followed by Louisiana and Alabama.
  • In general, the deep southern states have high rates exceeding 10.
  • The lowest rates are in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
  • Even the midwestern states have rates in excess of 9 on the average.
  • The prosperous states of California and Texas have relatively low rates.
  • The northwest states of Washington and Portland have lower rates compared to the awful deep south.
  • The highest homicide rate in Europe is in Latvia at 3.32 per 100,000. Only just a few states in the US have figures lower than this.
  • In fact, only just 7 US states have a lower homicide rate than the highest rate in Europe: New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Idaho, Massachusetts, Utah and Rhode Island.
  • A casual look at the above 2 charts show the massive difference. Europe is mostly yellow which is between 0.0 and 1.0.
  • None of the European countries have rates higher than 3.5. This is a shocking figure compared to the high rates in the southern states in the US.