“Cranes on the horizon, U-haul trailers stacked up at gas stations, out of state plates all over the county and you can’t get a table a decent restaurant. Sounds like 1986, I mean 1999 or was it 2007.
Its 2015 and we are booming again.” says Chris Bounds, of Austin, in a recent trade publication. Locals have seen this before.  Investors know the furry and the drill.  The only difference this time is the cranes are taller, the deals are bigger and the traffic is worse. Lots of money flowing into Austin and Central Texas chasing tech/e-commerce and real estate projects and ventures.  No shortage of Californians walking around with thick wallets and a resume trying to put something together.

Hopefully this is not another artificial bubble.  Hopefully we are not over building…again.  Hopefully the banks will stay solvent and sub prime loans wont infect the system, again.  And we hope that all your assets are monitored, managed and under audit at all times.  We advise that all passive and direct investments be reviewed, totaled and audited monthly.   The exercise of preparing and the review of a monthly Net Worth statement will often reveal good and bad news trends in advance of otherwise untimely notifications.

Private, confidential review and a complete Asset Analysis are the backbone of navigating the investment minefield in Boom economies.  We might even be in a Hyper-Boom economy, which would dictate more oversight and analysis.   Someone once said, ” I don’t know of a famous, skinny chef and I have never met a rich economist”  Do your own homework and employ experts to help.  Valuations can turn quickly in both directions, so you don’t want to be the last $ in or the last getting out.   Hope really  IS not a strategy and luck IS not a discipline.

 

Chris Bounds, Austin, Texas