by: Robert Jamal
No matter how smart you are, chances are you need professional advice when investing. As someone that has studied and practiced various investment methods, it has become increasingly obvious that I need someone at the investment wheel always. I make a good living doing what I do best and I leave the financial investment driving to someone else, and so should you.
"Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac’s talents didn’t extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, ‘I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.’ If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases."
- Warren Buffet
Mr. Buffett is saying two things here: Even a genius like Sir Isaac needed advice and as amateurs we tend to buy and sell too much. I’d also go on to say it’s important to be informed, well educated, and have a great partner to help you along the way. This partner cannot only advise you but can be watching your investments full-time giving you the best returns possible with less churn.
There are many resources available to become better educated including articles available on investing in Wikipedia and private institutions like Fidelity. I can’t emphasis enough that is important to be educated, well-informed, and to have great advice and help. Fisher Investments is a great partner in learning about investing, receiving investment advice, and management.
It’s just too easy to make the same mistakes in the stock market over and over again. Even with all the education I have in the area, I’ve made the same mistake a time or two. Entering and exiting the market are especially precarious times. These are the times normally dictated by fear. When everyone is getting out, the professionals are many times getting in. They do it slowly and quietly so they don’t disclose what they are doing to competitors. I still have a hard time overcoming the fear part of investing that’s why I leave a big portion of my portfolio to the professionals. They are not using their own money and that neutrality is helpful for them in making the correct decision.
“Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well.”
-Warren Buffet
When it comes to investing it’s important to educate yourself, do your research, and use professional advice and services. The professional do this twenty four seven and most of us just don’t have the time for financial investments. Use your talents to make a living and trust your investments to people who use their talents making other people money.