Birth of a Nation

1 - Do you know how many countries there are in the world? Would you care to take a guess? I'll wait....
The official answer--as of today--is 193. That is the number of countries recognized by the United Nations following the birth of South Sudan over the weekend. We don't often think about it, but global demographics are in a constant state of change, and this is a perfect example. After a 40-year civil war culminating in a referendum last January, the new nation is now officially separated from the north, but still faces problems posed by poverty, international tension and the challenge of creating political stability. To view a brief video of the celebrations in the newest member of the family of nations, click on the video image below.

2 - My ongoing reexamination of our investment approach kicks into high gear this week. I have collected reams of material and talked with a variety of sources, and I plan to spend much of the week reading, re-reading, sitting in on conference calls, and evaluating our existing asset classes and portfolio models. The project is coming along well, and I am confident that it will prove to be well worth the time and effort.

3 - All clients should have received quarterly reports from Millard & Company by now. If you haven't, please let me know!

Have a wonderful week!

-Andy