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To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (38728)	8/10/1999 8:21:00 AM
From: Rarebird	Respond to of 116779

Bobby, I'm well aware of the fact that the vast majority of day traders get wiped out. But the majority of investors over a market cycle lose also. The reason for this is that most investors get too emotionally attached to their investments and they over stay their welcome. Then they cannot handle the pain any longer as their investment continues to decline and they sell at the bottom. Investing is a cold hearted business. The name of the game is to take a nice profit and be back the following day. Most people like to brag about how they bought at the bottom and sold at the top. That rarely happens. I've been trained to buy fear and despair and sell euphoria. There have been plenty of stocks over the last 17 years that I sold way to early. But I'm still around after 17 years of investing and I'm alive and well. What's also interesting is that many people who lose are not stupid but very intelligent. Their downfall is that their arrogant and they cannot admit the fact that they made a mistake early on. They have the most beautiful charts to view and the best explanations in the world to justify their outdated views. In the early stages of a bear market, many bulls will provide us with this type of tragic commentary and analysis. Although I have to confess that I've been guilty of a little day trading myself over the last few years, my most profitable investments have come from buying and holding great companies with great managements in very depressed industries. The great companies always survive and their stocks soar when their is an inkling of a turnaround in the fundamentals of their industry. I've never been a momentum player. That is a sure way to lose because momentum works both ways. It is a fickle way to invest. I read a company's Quarterly reports to the SEC and I study their balance sheets. I usually go to the shareholder meetings and talk to the Insiders. I try to minimize risk.