Doug Kass: 15 Surprises for 2013

We wanted to get this post out before the first month of the new year passed us by.  Every year mark news maker and portfolio manager Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners puts out his list of 15 surprises.  His list can tackle not only financial topics but also political and world issues.

What I like about the Kass article is what he says right off the bat which are the lessons he has learned from putting together such a list year after year.

• how wrong conventional wisdom can consistently be;
• that uncertainty will persist;
• to expect the unexpected;
• that the occurrence of black swan events are growing in frequency; and
• with rapidly changing conditions, investors can't change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust our sails (and our portfolios) in an attempt to reach our destination of good investment returns.

I especially like his second point, "that uncertainty will persist."  As we celebrate the ceremonial inauguration of President Obama today as well as Martin Luther King, hope and optimism rain supreme.  There is a phrase that I often hear which is "It's always morning in America".  Translation, tomorrow is a new day and anything is possible.While there will always be opportunities to tackle, there will always be opportunities for success.

For the complete Kass list go here