I asked myself that very question as the price of Bitcoin doubled from $200 USD to $400 USD over the first two weeks of November 2013. My conclusion was to stick to the investing principle I had been taught by my father at a very young age: never buy into something that is hype-driven.

Cornelius Vanderbilt died in 1877. His fortune was built in the railroad and shipping industry. At the time of his death, he had amassed a fortune worth an estimated $215 billion in today’s dollars (that’s more wealth than Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos combined). In 1977, roughly three generations later, the family gathered at Vanderbilt University (named in his honor) for a family reunion. One family member remarked that there wasn’t a millionaire left among all of the descendants. On the other hand, the Rockefeller empire chugged on like a freight train, becoming one of the gold standards in preserving legacy wealth. Obviously, two families starting with fortunes took very different paths.

In this exclusive Quarterly Webinar, David Hay reviews what’s happening with central banks, inflation, the economy, bubbles and debt, yield curves and spreads, energy and the stock market.

The relative absence of borders limiting participation in global markets has enabled internationally-minded investors to find opportunities that domestic-minded investors might miss. Much like the Silk Road, which opened opportunities to traders throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa, those willing to invest internationally have generally been rewarded for doing so.

Warren Buffett is famous for his disdain of “investment strategies” that involve making small gains while taking big risks, even if those risks rarely erupt. He has described this approach using the above analogy, although he has said “pennies” instead of “millions”. In today’s $28 trillion US stock market, however, “millions” is a much more appropriate word.