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
car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareLet's hope you did not have any of the Enron... Read More
At some time in your life you have been on... Read More
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the King's... Read More
I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More
Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More
If you have a pension plan at work you will... Read More
If you were to find that you had some severe... Read More
The big bad bear is stirring again. So far he... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
You have a lock on your house. You have a... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
A PEG ratio cannot be used alone but is a... Read More
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More
The trash business in its efforts to cook their books... Read More
The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in... Read More
Every day I hear from the "experts" on CNBC-TV and... Read More
Look back over the years and try to remember how... Read More
What is leverage?Here is a definition of leverage from an... Read More
You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been... Read More
Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like... Read More
How many times has this happened to you? You're at... Read More
A colleague of mine just returned from a scuba diving... Read More
I don't know what kind it is, but I saw... Read More
What does it mean to short a stock?This means that... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
Granger limo Chicago ..It depends on your level of understanding of the market... Read More
One of the things people are always asking me is... Read More
The trash business in its efforts to cook their books... Read More
We have two candidates for president that have really different... Read More
Ever have one of those sample boxes of candy? Each... Read More
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
How many people went to a cash position this week?... Read More
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR standing firm in the... Read More
You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
The Winter Games for the Olympics are coming up soon... Read More
Have you ever thought of investing? Do you have a... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
The Law of Chaos is the theory of random unpredictable... Read More
Because you don't feel too sure about which stock or... Read More
As one of my regular readers you know I have... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics states that a... Read More
Ever notice how behavior in one area of life can... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
1. Do not spread your money too thin.My friend has... Read More
All of the talking heads have been telling us that... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |