Many of the "Big Boys" play "Follow the Leader" of analysts and each others moves. I think it's a matter of "lucky, smart investor v. not-so smart, or unlucky investor" when considering who is winning or losing in the downturn. The poor "small investor" actually has some advantages compared to many large investors because they are much more nimble and don't have rules or beuraucracies to surmount in making their decisions.
I agree, let's get off this "big boy v. small guy" kick or the dumb analysts kick that a lot of people are on. It's always easy to blame someone or something else than to doubt our own perfect intelligence.
I, for one, am hurting along with most people, but, thank goodness, maybe not as much as some. In 20-20 hindsight, I would have foregone my mid and long-term thinking in favor of putting more money on the side. Now I wish I was totally liquid because I would be very agressively buying in today's market. Sure the market may continue down a bit until it reaches a point where the psychology is almost universally one of disgust, but it will eventually turn strongly positive because the market and individual company's fundamentals are strong and growing.
This scenario brings to mind, for some whacky reason, the song/movie "Ghost Busters". Before a big cataclysmic event in which the sky opens up and demons decend, about everyone thinks that things are peachy, ignoring the fraying around the edges (record high P/E's and other valuations. When things are getting real spoooky and everyone is panicing wild in the streets, they think the sky is falling and screem out for a someone to blame and someone to fix things. |
