Jim, I'll happily concede that not everybody fits into one of these three categories--in fact, most of us are just honest investor Joes looking for the next Microsoft to park our hard-earned dollars in <g>.
Michael, thanks for the tip on Isis I got in yesterday at 12 1/4 just before today's rally and made some bucks <g>.
Its not hard to see why people get upset when one tries to demonstrate why their pet stock is a loser ... someone who has invested in a company is implicitly supporting that company's business, management, product, and future prospects. Furthermore, it is a fact people tend to "fall in love" with the companies they invest in. A criticism of the company becomes a criticism of their beliefs, investment philosophies, and intellect. In other words, somebody telling me that the stock I own will probably sell off is saying that I'm a nitwit for holding it ... so don't be surprised to pick up a lot of flak for trying to point out negative facts about companies in which others are invested.
The market is a battlefield, and like all forms of combat, the most skilled and successful warriors are those that compete without allowing emotion to cloud their judgement. I'm not afraid to confess that I've made my worst investment errors during precisely such moments--when I've allowed the panic/euphoria of the moment to affect my decisions.
It is interesting to note that the two most successful investors I know of (W. Buffet and the sister of a friend of mine) don't have price quotation systems in their offices. Instead, they do massive amounts of research, develop an incredible magnitude of confidence in a particular company, then move in and buy a huge chunk of it. Then they basically leave it alone for years.
I guess I've yakked enough for one night <g>
Best wishes to all,
Pietro |
