Earlier this summer I had the privilege of being one of just four instructors invited to teach a two-day seminar in conjunction with the Mexican National Petroleum Congress. To put things in perspective, Mexico is the 12th biggest oil producing country in the world with daily production of 2 million barrels, or $100+ million at $50 per barrel. The Congress is their largest event of the year and draws thousands of professionals, managers and executives from across the country.
What did I teach? I taught many of the same things I teach every Schulz Financial client:
- Market efficiency & evidence of the random walk;
- Statistics 101;
- Quantifying uncertainty and managing risk;
- The connection between risk and return;
- Forecasting under uncertainty;
- Other related matters
In short, my seminar, Oil & Gas Economics and Uncertainty, tackles a subject even more fraught with risk and unknowns than what my Schulz Financial clients endure. Further, my students are always a very analytical bunch, like many of my Schulz Financial clients. And going 1 on 20 with no intellectual support for 16 hours over a two-day period pushes me mentally and physically. Hence, although I only do it approximately once a year, it’s a good experience that also benefits my Schulz Financial clients.
How does this benefit my Schulz Financial clients? It helps in many ways, including:
- Going 1 on 20 keeps me sharp;
- Explaining what I apply forces me to continually rethink and challenge the subject matter. I never quit challenging the basis of how I manage my clients’ life savings;
- Through the open discussion format I use, I’m always learning from my students and collecting the things they have thought about and experienced;
- Because I teach students from around the world (Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America), teaching the course gives me real feedback on economies and issues around the world. It’s one thing to read something in the Wall Street Journal or Reuters, and quite another to either experience it through my travels or hear it first hand from a source I can question and challenge.
Thus, the experience brings many benefits to Schulz Financial clients. Additionally, I love to teach and it’s fun, as well as providing a decent stipend for 16 hours of work (I have two teenagers who will soon be headed off to college). Thus, all in all, it’s good for everyone.