The New Rules of Investing by Mark Haefele

THE NEW RULES OF INVESTING by Mark Haefele with Richard C. Morais is subtitled “Essential Wealth Strategies for Turbulent Times.” Haefele is the global chief investment Officer at UBS where he oversees the investment policy and strategy for around $4 trillion in invested assets at UBS. In this book, Haefele stresses that “we must all change our way of investing to meet the needs of our time.” Advocating greater risk tolerance, he argues not for managing investments, but for managing wealth, and allocating your wealth by looking at Liquidity, Longevity, and Legacy. He also highlights the increasingly important role of government and even talks about 5Ds of disruption (debt, deglobalization, demographics, digitalization, and decarbonization). Haefele does offer limited advice on specific topics, like this excerpt on cryptocurrency which was featured in Barron’s. However, it would appear difficult for anyone to predict future actions, much less all unintended consequences, of the current administration. Instead, much of his text is a push for the strategies associated with the “UBS Wealth Way,” often told through client stories. Haefele also provides a varied list of other “books that shaped my thinking” and a lengthy bibliography (almost fifteen percent of the text). THE NEW RULES OF INVESTING offers an easy read, packed with anecdotes, more of a mindset reset than an investment guide. Contemplating the questions it raises could be helpful for readers prior to talking with their own financial advisors.