Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Investment and Entertainment

Most investors equate investment to entertainment to some extent. Many, like the retail investors who have no information (e.g., my dad), invest purely for the entertainment. This is a severe behavior bias that we all need to guard against.

In the last couple of months, there are friends who ask me when I would advise them to sell, especially when they do not see I post anything. They are always itching toward the next trade. There will be people who would regard low portfolio turnover as being slacking on managing money for them. This happens even to many institutional investors.

There will also be people, who have MBA degrees from great schools and work for big banks, argue that they are still unclear what to do when they see my posting on risk on and risk off. Some of them also argue that my postings are not a track record because I do not tell them exactly what to do. Well, the simplest thing would be to buy or sell a Heng Seng index ETF, mutual fund, or futures contract. It cannot be easier. If one wants to spice up the trade a big more, bringing in high beta stocks and long term US treasury bonds or bond ETF, mutual funds, or futures contracts. Since some of these friends are managing money for other people, I think their clients should be really concerned. If these friends are so lazy to even think of these, they probably should give their clients’ money, plus their own money, for me to manage.

Investing should really be emotionless. Ups or downs, right or wrong, it should not affect your mood and behavior. This takes some experience to achieve. Good luck in getting rid of the entertainment aspect from your investment.

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