What is active investing? It’s a constant race against benchmarks. U.S. retail sales up 0.8% in June triggered rallies in consumer discretionary names, prompting active managers to increase holdings in apparel and online retail stocks. Shutdown or not? It’s 50/50, but Seaport leans toward a CR and a 3-month extension. A shutdown, if it happens, is mostly headline risk—unless it drags beyond six months. The real pain? The Akron invoice processing center shuts, choking cash flows. Defense firms, though, are insulated from broader CR impacts. Here's the most damning aspect of Swedroe's philosophy: Even if you're destined to be in the lower 50% of investment performance, the cognitive benefits of active investing make the exercise worthwhile. Learning to analyze balance sheets, assess competitive advantages and think probabilistically about uncertain outcomes creates mental frameworks that improve every financial decision you'll make for the rest of your life. What is active investing? Investors use timely market news to trade aggressively. This week, Chinese EV makers posted record deliveries, fueling a 9% rally in related ADRs; active strategies shifted toward emerging market automakers for rapid alpha capture.