In her most recent book, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright quotes Mussolini: “If you pluck a chicken one feather at a time,” he said, “no one will notice.” Don’t worry—I‘m not veering into political commentary. But when I heard this quote, it brought to mind what we’ve been seeing in [...]
Too slow?
This week, I received an email from a reader—let’s call him Tom. He described his experience managing through this year’s unruly market. After the market dropped in February and March, he said, the equities side of his portfolio lost a lot of value. So he decided to rebalance his account—that is, to [...]
Where to next?
This week I ran across a statistic so surprising it was hard to believe: During the recent market downturn, according to Fidelity Investments, approximately 15% of investors sold all of their stock holdings. And among investors 65 and older, nearly a third sold all their stock market investments. It [...]
The five minds of the investor
As an individual investor, what’s the key to success? It’s a question I hear a lot, especially in volatile times like this. The answer, I think, is that there isn’t one key; there are many—five actually. The most successful investors seem to be equal parts: 1. Optimist 2. Pessimist 3. [...]
Profitable trading strategies?
Every year, when spring rolls around, investment folks trot out a favorite catchphrase: “Sell in May and go away.” This is based on the idea that the stock market lags during the summer, as people go on vacation. And while it may sound hokey as an investment rule, it’s hardly the only one. There’s [...]
