I’ve been blogging for a while but haven’t given you a good introduction. So today, here are some highlights from my story…
My name is Brian Kehm (pronounced like “chem” in chemistry) and I’ve been fortunate to travel and network around the world.
At a young age, foreign exchange students lived with my family in Iowa. They traveled from Japan, Brazil, Germany, Venezuela, and Switzerland. I gained a global perspective and got the itch to travel.
After double majoring in Finance and Accounting, I backpacked through Europe and went on to work in Beijing in 2014. I helped with a crypto currency business that had some cool perks. Here’s a photo of me at a business conference in Thailand…
Not long after, I returned to the States. I jumped into a financial analysis role with one of the world’s largest newsletter publishers. The emails I’ve sent have moved well over $100 million dollars. And one project pulled me back to the crypto currency space. I sent out a total of $494 thousand worth of Bitcoin to about 1,900 people.
The newsletter world has helped me network with some super successful investors. And awhile back, I attended a Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder’s conference. It was amazing to watch Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions for hours on end.
I’ve also met other top minds of our time. The photo below shows me with the past director of the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)…
Along my journey, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of our world and what makes financial markets tick. I still have a lot to learn, but I now have financial concepts and insight to share.
In one recent triumph, I completed a series of three exams required to obtain the CFA designation. I studied over 6,000 pages to pass the exams. Here’s a sampling of some of my CFA Level 3 Notes.
Financial markets and the business world are complex. So I half-jokingly classify myself as a financial engineer. I try to be more of a problem solver than a number puncher. Although, number punching and data management are more important this day and age.
Every industry is collecting more data and people that can turn it into useful information are valuable. So I’ve shifted my learning efforts to statistics and programming. I’m keen on finding trends in financial markets and elsewhere in our world.
It’s also important to note that you can cherry pick data to back up any story. So it’s important to understand intentions behind your sources of information. For instance, most news sources are biased with profit motives. This is where I, Brian Kehm, and Frugal Fortunes are different…
Independence and Integrity
Growing up, I was in 4-H, Boy Scouts, and many other organizations. This involvement helped me gain a strong sense of community. And I’d like to think that I have a strong ethical compass. One of my early accomplishments was reaching the Eagle Scout rank.
The first part of the Boy Scout Law is “Trustworthy” and I’ve learned that trust is the most important thing in any relationship – work or personal. Trust is gained in drips and lost in buckets. So I strive to give accurate information at all times.
What also makes me unique is my independence and ability to look behind the curtain. Growing up I learned and performed magic tricks. Here’s a photo from my glory days…
Learning magic left me with an invaluable lesson. I found that there’s always more than meets the eye. It’s important to have a healthy level of skepticism in our world.
As mentioned above, most news sources are biased. So I try to gather information from contradicting sources before coming to a conclusion. This helps me avoid confirmation bias. I also try to delay forming a conclusion to avoid the negative effects of cognitive dissonance.
I love learning how we think and how to make better decisions. This applies to financial markets and all areas of our lives. You’ll find many of my articles that focus on psychology and here’s one of my all-time favorites, Fake Smile Psychology.
My unique background has helped me collect useful ideas that I’m happy to share. And I love your feedback. It encourages me to improve and share even more ideas.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you’ll return and join me on my journey to financial freedom and beyond.
Invest mindfully,
Brian Kehm
P.S. Please feel free to reach out on Facebook or LinkedIn. You can also find my personal email on the Frugal Fortune’s contact page.