This weekend I was speaking with a young trader and a question about research inevitably came up. “What research are you working on to maintain your edge in the markets?” My answer: Following your system is exponentially more important than researching new trading tactics. Progress from research typically occurs by accident often following dramatic emotional …
Most people gather too much sludge in their portfolios. They start out with a few mutual funds and ETFs then, before they know it, a couple dozen stocks make their way in too. Where did they all come from? Likely from tips here and there, recommendations from articles they read or a shows they watched. …
The answer to what the markets will do cannot be found in multiple choice answers A through D. The question to ask is not “what will the markets do over the next 12-24 months?”, but “what can the markets do over the next 12-24 months?” The answer: (E) anything That’s always the answer. Most people …
Where we are might serve as a pretty good indicator of where we’re going. The trick is to actually observe what’s happening, not what’s being said. Fundamentally speaking, which I’m not very good at in the slightest but I’ll take a shot at summarizing the current environment — we have inflation figures declining around the …
Nothing is forever. We all know it. Healthy and successful people prepare accordingly while others hope and wish for ideal. Trading preparation for hope is a losing formula. Seeking pleasure over preparation softens our muscles. It exposes us to danger. We don’t realize it because we’re feeling so good in our hope-driven play world to …
Changing someones mind with words doesn’t work. They need to see action. They need real life results. Nature requires us to adapt, but it’s funny to me that we build impenetrable walls in our minds that prohibit us from changing our minds. How the hell did that happen? That seems like an evolutionary glitch, but …
One makes you feel cozy. The other makes you feel afraid. One makes you feel like you have control. The other makes you feel like danger is always lurking. One has trouble managing risk. The other only thinks about managing risk. One makes you feel part of something. The other makes you feel it’s all …
Making money in the markets is hard enough without the added pressure of bloated business costs. The most important thing we can do as managers is to stick to our investing strategy (assuming of course that it’s a viable one). It doesn’t get easier when you maintain an expensive staff, rent out an office space …
I’m a New York Giants fan. They over-achieved this season and made the playoffs, but were very much a mediocre team. A few bounces here and there and they would’ve missed the playoffs. They finished the season with a -6 score differential. Not very good. Everyone went crazy when they beat the 13-4 Vikings in …
Absent a systematic and responsible plan, our emotions will run things. When shit hits the fan, we’ll be too scared to get in. When we hear some suited up analyst on television talking positively about the stock we own, we’ll be too hopeful to get out when the trend turns. Systematic trend-following can help us …
