Mutual Funds for the Utterly Confused

At the close of chapter three I bring up the author Jorge Luis Borges.  Mr. Borges was an Argentina writer was initially known for his literary criticism and essays.  But as he matured, he moved into a different style of writing and from this cames a collection of short stories, one of which I reference in the book.

The story, Funes the Memorious appeared in a collection of stories entitled Ficciones (Editorial Sur, 1942) was about a fictional Borges - inserted inot one of his own stories - and the tale of young man who had amazing talents both before a horseback riding accident and especially after.  The young man in the story, Ireneo Funes was capable of telling anyone who asked what time it was without the aid of a watch.

Some time pases between that first meeting and the story places Borges back in the same town as the boy.  His intent is to study Latin and relax.  I realize that this isn’t everyone’s idea of relaxation but the story was set in 1887 and forms of relaxation were limited to either literary pursuits the likes of Emerson or Pliny the Elder or perhaps simply rest from labor.

The boy’s mother heard that Borges was back and after recounting the tragedy that had befallen her son and the dark place the now-crippled child lived, she asked for some of the Latin material he possessed for the boy to use. he sent her away with what he deemed the most difficult tomes. 

The story continues with Borges discovery the boy’s incredible talent as he went to recover the books.  Since the accident the boy tells him, he is able to remember and reconstruct every moment of every day, and because that sort of simple recall was not enough, he develops his own system of labeling these scenes by number.

Borges wonders how this is possible in boy so far from what at the time was considered the civilized world. The talents afflicts the boy’s sleep and he tells Borges, in the dark of the night, amazing tales that should be beyond the understanding of a poor village boy.

The reason I bring up this memory story right before we begin the bond section of the book is the often difficult “bondspeak” that is necessary in the full comprehension of this type of investment.  Bonds, the tool by which business is built, offers the investor an unusual bargain in return for yield (a payment for your investment usually expressed as a percentage). It will require quite a lot less than Funes was capable of but the astounding part is, you will be versed well enough after reading this chapter to converse about the nature, the need, and the importance of bonds in your portfolio.

If you would like the read the story in its entirety, you may find it here.