Wednesday, September 8, 2021

In medias res and investment analysis - Solving problems when thrown in the middle of events



The Latin term in medias res means in the middle of things and often describes a plot device that starts the story in the middle and not the beginning. The term may also describe the situation that most investment analysts face. 

For most investment problems there is no easy well-defined beginning and analysts certainly don’t know the conclusion. Investment situations usually start in the middle of an ongoing story and have to figure out the beginning and how to anticipate the end. 

This is different than the position of the historian who has the beginning, middle, and end of the story and have to focus on interpretations. Adam Tooze, the Columbia University, has had his writing of current event described as an in medias res problem. He is writing about history that is unfolding in real time.

Dropped in the middle of the story, the analyst has to figure the story out with no help of time. There is no repeat, rewind, or reread of current events. The investment has to be lived in real time. 

Is there a way to solve this problem? The burden is on the analysts to resort problems and look for first causes. The investment analysis process has to create a beginning to fit the middle facts and then form an end. The investment narrative creates the full story. 


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