Monday, July 23, 2012

Buffet's Definition of the Stock Market

Our stay-put behavior reflects our view that the stock market serves as a relocation center at which money is moved from the active to the patient.

quoted in "Investors Continue to Seek Safety" by Lawrence Swedrow of CBS Money Watch.

I have had many clients who, although they are not professionals in the field, do their own "investing."  In my limited sample, the women always do better, and they do so because they are typically more patient.  When the stock market goes down, the men must "do something," so they sell.  When it goes up, then they also must "do something," so they buy.  This is a formula for extremely poor performance over time.

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