Weekend Reading – Investing With Leverage & Crafting Your Own IPS
Weekend Reading is a collection of Investment Research and Lifestyle topics from all corners of the Web. We source the highest quality insights from Wall Street and Main Street that you may apply to your investment process. Unlike the rest of Bankeronwheels.com, this series is provided without additional guidance. As usual, everything is to be used at your own risk. Below is the type of content we shortlist:
There could be things that would happen in the U.S. that would make us want to own a lot of other currencies
Featured
Your Battle Plan For The Next Market Chaos: Crafting a Rock-Solid IPS (Banker on Wheels)
An IPS is not paperwork, but your battle plan. It defines your goals, pins down your risk tolerance, and hands you clear rules for stormy markets—no matter how “unprecedented” they may feel. By acknowledging that market downturns and periods of uncertainty are inevitable, an IPS helps investors prepare emotionally and financially for the rough patches.
Ready to build your IPS? Here’s what to consider—and how often to revisit it. Let’s jump in.
Portfolio Construction
Asset Allocation
Bear market Guidebook (UBS)
Although bear markets are painful, it usually only takes a few years for the stock market—and even less time for balanced, diversified portfolios—to fully recoup bear market losses. Even in a worst-case “super bear market,” market losses are temporary for investors who are able to stay the course. The main risk that investors face during a bear market is panic, but even the most patient investors can be forced to sell at bear market prices if they are living off of their portfolios.
- Leverage 1/3: Borrowing From Your Future Can Cost You Everything (Of Dollars and Data)
- Leverage 2/3: Rethinking Diversification with Risk Parity (Italian Leather Sofa)
- Leverage 3/3: Leveraged ETFs - Beyond Volatility Drag (Geeky!) (Cornell University)
- How tail-risk ETFs use options to act as portfolio insurance (Morningstar)
Understand Financial Markets
Jeremy Schwartz and Professor Siegel starts with Powell’s latest commentary and potential rate cuts. The Professor expresses concern over Powell downplaying recent favorable inflation data and suggests a preemptive rate cut is warranted, warning of recession risks if tariffs persist. He also critiques corporate earnings guidance in the face of rising trade uncertainty and emphasizes how tariffs could cap market growth for the foreseeable future.
How To Invest
Active Investing
Factor Investing
The Case for International and Emerging Small Cap Stocks (AQR)
Amid a market environment marked by significant concentration and elevated valuations within the major U.S. large cap indices, many investors are seeking to diversify their exposures. This article explores why small caps, especially in the international and emerging regions, present a compelling investment opportunity driven by the potential for higher expected market returns, attractive earnings growth, strong diversification benefits, and rich alpha opportunities.
Trade War Crisis or Correction: Managed Futures and Crisis Alpha in 2025 (Virtus)
Going into April 2, or what the current administration has termed “Liberation Day,” market volatility was high. There seemed to be two disparate views on how the administration’s tariff announcement could impact markets. One view was that the discussion was a negotiation tactic and that higher tariffs might be slightly inflationary but manageable; the other view was that the tariffs could have serious economic implications.
Alternative Asset Classes
Gold $5,000? (Research Affiliates)
Gold is often viewed as a hedge against inflation, but historical evidence shows that its high volatility makes it an unreliable short-term inflation hedge. While gold has offered some protection during stock market downturns by either rising or declining by less than equities, its current high price levels and historical patterns suggest that future returns may be limited.
Wall Street - Warren Buffett Retirement
Bad Bets
- Credit Suisse Services AG Admits to Conspiring with U.S. Taxpayers to Hide Assets and Income in Offshore Accounts and Admits that Credit Suisse Breached Its Prior Plea Agreement (Justice)
- The trading / gambling spectrum (Epsilon Theory)
- Life Changing: I won £50,000 then gambled it away in seven days (BBC)
ETFs
UCITS ETFs
Tools: ETF Fee Calculator (Banker on Wheels)
Our ETF Fee Calculator is an interactive tool designed to help investors understand the impact of fees on their ETF investments. It allows users to compare the portfolio impact of two ETFs: an expensive ETF (high Total Expense Ratio) and a cheap ETF (low Total Expense Ratio).
US ETFs
Your Money-Market Fund Is Ripping You Off (Wall Street Journal)
Cash is king. If only you didn’t have to pay a king’s ransom to hold it. Ever since President Trump’s tariff bombshells went off on April 2, cash has reasserted itself as a valuable shelter for investors. Money-market mutual funds—the most convenient form of cash for most investors—have stayed stable while providing steady income that has cushioned the damage in other markets. Yet money-market funds are surprisingly expensive, and a recent attempt to make them cheaper has been stymied.
Wealth Management
Personal Finance
How Daily Incomes Have Changed in Top Economies (1994-2024) (Visual Capitalist)
The mid-1990s feel like a different world. In the 30 years since, the global economy has shifted dramatically, across sectors and markets. But headline stats like GDP, GDP per capita, or growth rates don’t always reflect what’s happening at the individual level. So, has life actually improved over time? To help answer that, we visualize figures from Our World in Data to show how daily median incomes have changed in 20 of the world’s largest economies from 1994 to 2024.
Platforms
(Early) Retirement
With markets down at one point nearly 20% in 2025, is this the sequence risk moment we feared? In this episode, we reflect on recent market volatility, how it’s impacted our early retirement finances, and whether our original FIRE strategy can still hold up. We also catch up post-Liberation Day and share how our thinking has evolved after real-world stress testing our withdrawal plan. If you're navigating FIRE in 2025—or just wondering what a 20% portfolio loss feels like—this one's for you.
Financial Advice
Design Your Lifestyle
Personal Development
Why men shouldn't fear being "middle aged” (Khe Hy - RadReads)
What happens when men hit their 40s with all the trappings of success but a gnawing emptiness inside? Greg Scheinman shares his awakening at 47 — the same age his father died — when he realized professional achievement alone wasn't enough. He introduces his "six F's" framework (family, fitness, finance, food, fashion, and fun) as a roadmap for midlife men stuck in the "over-indexing trap" of prioritizing career above all else.
Health & Wellness
Careers & Entrepreneurship
Average salaries across Europe: Which countries have the highest pay? (Euro News)
Average salaries differ widely across Europe. The cost of living does too. So, which countries offer the highest pay? And how do salaries compare when adjusted for purchasing power standards? There are various definitions of salary, wages, and earnings, each reflecting different aspects. The average full-time adjusted salary per employee is particularly useful. Eurostat’s calculation is based on the average gross annual salary for a full-time job. Euronews converted these figures into monthly salaries by simply dividing by 12.
- Why robots are not the answer to US manufacturing reshoring hopes (FT-Paywall)
- The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Firm Growth, Product Innovation, and Operating Efficiency (larry swedroe)
- Has Remote Work Extended Workers’ Careers? (Boston College)
- The AI jobs crisis is here, now (Blood in the Machine)
Travel
Tech & Economy
Economy
Real Interest Rates by Country in 2025 (Visual Capitalist)
This infographic shows real interest rates for 16 major economies in 2025, highlighting the current state of monetary policies. Interest rates are a hot topic in 2025, with major economies navigating inflationary pressures and the loosening end of their monetary policy cycles. Real interest rates, calculated by subtracting inflation from nominal policy rates, can show the true incentive to spend or save. When real interest rates are low, businesses borrow more and consumers spend more, boosting economic activity.
Tech & Science
And Finally
Medici - The Most Powerful Family in History | A Documentary (FinAIus)
Medici manipulates popes, kings, and empires from behind velvet curtains. Masters of Power unveils the ruthless rise of the Medici—how one family used gold, blood, and God to forge the blueprint for modern power, centuries before the world realized it was already theirs.
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
(* Wheels & Dividends)
Trade Wars, Real Wars, but Equities Close To All-Time Highs: Is It A Good Time To Invest?
7 Reasons Why Japan May Be Your Next Cycling Adventure
Nomads in 2026: Genki vs SafetyWing – Which Travel Insurance Wins?
How You Can Cycle The World – A Practical Guide
Weekend Reading – Vanguard Cuts Fees across 15 ETFs & IBKR launches prediction markets
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