For my sins I’m forced to read a lot of stock market stuff. Which gives me great empathy and, thus, pity, for the studious individual investor. Here are the titles and gists of 6 articles I read today:
1. “Janet Yellen Nails It”… no bubble
2. “Yes Mrs. Yellen, QE Is Creating An Asset Bubble”… title speaks for itself
3. “The Disinflationary Developed World: 2 Investment Implications”… Low interest rates will support stocks, and avoid TIPS (treasury inflation protected securities)
4. “Why It’s Still Only a Cyclical Bull Market Within The Long-Term Secular Bear”… this party’s almost over
5. “5 Reasons Stocks Could Continue to Push Higher”… title speaks for itself
6. “The S&P Is Approximately 75% Overvalued” … title speaks for itself, and OMG!!
5 of the 6 are adorned with charts supporting the authors’ cases (#5 even sports a video). Read 1, 3 and 5 and you’ll feel great about your equities exposure for the foreseeable future. Read 2, 4 and 6 and you’ll want to dash to the shelter of your money market account. Read all 6 and you’ll understand what it means to be bipolar—unless, that is,
You view yourself as an investor, as opposed to a trader.
You understand there’s a business cycle.
You know that it takes two opposite-thinking parties to transact a stock trade; one’s short-term right, the other’s short-term wrong.
You see a silver lining in 2, 4 and 6; the opportunity to rebalance to your equities target (buy).
You know that a strong opinion gets one’s article published.
You know patience and humility to be the successful investor’s 2 most valuable traits.