Wall Street has been preaching the doctrine of Buy and Hold forever. The worst part about it is the small investor (and some big ones) actually believe it. Brokers and financial planners believe it, but when you show them they can get a better return by timing the market they just say, "It can't be done". They are either lazy or stupid.
Most brokers have not learned their trade - investing. Webster says that means putting money into something (stocks) for the purpose of obtaining an income or profit. When people look at their brokerage statements these days they must wonder where their broker went to school. Investors could have done better with a dartboard.
Brokers are not taught to make money. They are taught all the regulations that come out of Washington that must be followed so the brokerage company will not be sued. To my knowledge none of them are taught the basic fundamentals of increasing customers' wealth or protecting the customers' capital from loss.
Brokerage houses hire people to do reports about companies. They call them analysts, but today those jobs have deteriorated into snow jobs to get people to buy stock in a particular company. When you read the report you will find it very professionally done with pretty pictures and graphs and charts. Wow! I'll buy that. And a few months later you will wish you hadn't. When you have a loss the standard reply is, "Don't worry. You are in for the long haul. The market always comes back". In your lifetime? Today there are hundreds of stocks that have lost 50% to 90% of their value and there is absolutely no hope they will ever recover those losses. But?.you are in for the long haul. You now have the Buy and Hold philosophy.
Why do so many people cling to this doctrine?
You have a stock you bought for $40 per share that went up to some profitable number and now is down below $10/share. You're out 75% of your money. You are waiting for it to go back up so you can get out "even" and I will tell you "even" is a loser.
Many years ago I heard a story about how they used to catch monkeys in Africa. A hole was made just big enough for the monkey to get his outstretched hand in a hollowed out coconut shell. Fruit and sweets were placed inside. The monkey put his hand in and gripped the goodies, but could not remove his clinched fist. It refused to let go even when the hunter came to put him in a cage. All the monkey had to do was let go of the candy and he could have escaped.
Many investors are the same way about the stock they bought. They won't let go. The investor does not want to admit he was wrong. You are not wrong until you sell - just broke. Small losses will not hurt you, but holding on can put you in the poverty cage. Buy and Hold conventional wisdom will break you. Learn to let go of the losers quickly and you will preserve your capital.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com; 1-888-345-7870
cleaning team near Winnetka ..One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More
Minority Report the movie may not be far off if... Read More
Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer... Read More
With an insecure job market, overworked employees, insufficient retirement savings... Read More
In my opinion, due to the volatility of stock market... Read More
There can't be many traders who haven't at least considered... Read More
For years I have been saying you must have a... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
According to Investopedia Inc. the penny stock market has seen... Read More
(1) Stock Market is Tough Place to Make Any Money... Read More
Being wrong is OK, but let's not carry it to... Read More
Every stock market investor faces one primal enemy. An enemy... Read More
Every day I see in the financial section of newspapers... Read More
Buy high and sell low -- It's not a typo.Millions... Read More
I'll bet with almost anyone that has stocks or mutual... Read More
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the... Read More
The broker told me not to sell because the mutual... Read More
If you have been dealing with mutual funds for any... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
I am taking the time to help others learn the... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
Day trading is all about making buy and sell decisions.... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
At some time in your life you have been on... Read More
family-safe home cleaners Northbrook ..Do you have a financial planner? Does one of your... Read More
One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds... Read More
If you want one.And I don't recommend any broker with... Read More
As one of my regular readers you know I have... Read More
The stock market is very unstable at this time going... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
Two weeks ago I wrote about what the Securities and... Read More
Much like the middle child, mid-cap stocks have long struggled... Read More
Mutual funds were created with the idea that one person... Read More
An investor can find and research the best stock on... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
I was devastated!I just couldn't believe it. I was 10... Read More
Are hedge funds a suitable investment for you? Hedge funds... Read More
Recently I watched my favorite football team lose a vital... Read More
In today's volatile and confusing stock markets everyone is searching... Read More
Everybody is riding the Wall Street Roller coaster. Even if... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
I was recently interviewed for a press release through a... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
AS BUILDERS BEGIN WORK ON THE FREEDOM TOWER in New... Read More
I have been trading for several decades and was an... Read More
On November 17 I bought 7 different mutual funds and... Read More
As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |