Observations

Who is George Dagnino? What makes him tick? In the money management business you have to have unique ideas and a sense of why things happen the way they do. Eventually I have to tell you what are the most attractive investments.

The media are full of news. People continuously express their opinions. Administration officials tell us what they are planning to do and why. We are bombarded with events, data streams, opinions, ideas, and surprises.

I am a logician, because I need to tie everything together in a cause and effect relationship. If I am successful, I make the right forecasts.

I have to absorb the events and try to give a perspective to what is happening. Does it matter? Should we be concerned? Why should we? Why not.

I have to be open minded and creative. This is the reason why I read subjects such as philosophy, history, and religion. I stretch my mind by reading philosophers who have violently attacked my religion, such as Nietzsche, to understand why they think the way they do.

I read Bertrand Russell. He is an agnostic. He is one of the most brilliant and fertile minds of the last century. He refuted, as the great logician he was, the famous proofs given by St. Augustine that God exists.

In the last issue, I wanted to make the point that we tend to forget the real issues. I used the event of the day to convey this idea. The event of the day was not the message. The message was that, as a Nation, sometimes we get sidetracked and tend to minimize the huge problems facing us. To remain the world leaders we need to stay focused.

At times there may be misunderstandings in the way I express a concept. I hope my awkwardness does not obscure the value and the real objective of this service as an investment resource.

(This Observations appeared in the 3/29/04 of The Peter Dag Portfolio).