What does it take for an individual investor to survive and thrive while swimming with the institutional and hedge fund sharks in financial market waters? Is it better to be a slow-moving, unobtrusive bottom-feeder or a nimble remora sharing a shark’s meal? These blog entries cover success and failure factors for individual investors.
April 4, 2005 - Cartoons, Individual Investing
It is very easy to: (1) set up an account with an online, discount broker; (2) get margin and option-trading privileges; (3) read about hot stocks and funds on the web; and, (4) start trading. Is this process too easy for the average investor? Keep Reading
April 1, 2005 - Animal Spirits, Cartoons, Individual Investing
Thinking about stock message boards… Keep Reading
March 24, 2005 - Cartoons, Individual Investing
In case the market’s got you down… Keep Reading
February 4, 2005 - Big Ideas, Individual Investing
In his June 2004 paper on “What Are Stock Investors’ Actual Historical Returns”, Ilia Dichev examines stock market capital inflows and outflows to determine how well investors really perform compared to buy-and-hold returns. He concludes that: Keep Reading
October 29, 2004 - Individual Investing
Is frequent trading an essential aspect of portfolio outperformance? In their April 2000 paper entitled “Trading Is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors”, Brad Barber and Terrance Odean examine the trading behavior and returns of retail investors. Using data for 66,465 households at a large discount brokerage firm during 1991-1996, they find that: Keep Reading
October 22, 2004 - Individual Investing
Could we make a bundle day trading? In their May 2004 paper entitled “Do Individual Day Traders Make Money? Evidence from Taiwan”, Brad Barber, Yi-Tsung Lee, Yu-Jane Liu and Terrance Odean assess the success of day traders in the Taiwan stock market. Using detailed individual trading records, they find that: Keep Reading