Religion Faith and Investing (-:

hank

Recently met old acquaintance who'd been quite ill and was struck by his steadfast belief in the hereafter. He had, he said, spoken to God about whether to have necessary surgery or simply move on to the next world ahead of schedule. Not possessing anywhere near that degree of faith, I'm glad they opted for the surgery.

Got me thinking: Investing demands a similar leap of faith. Like a 25 year old forking over $$ to a fund house for use 40-50 years down the road. Or, a 65 year old clinging to his volatile funds.

Add to this, the doctrinarian disputes that arise from time to time between active & passive investing adherents, the resurrection of Fundmentals through his teachings, and the schism brewing between modern day "vanilla" supporters and old school traditionalists. Dang it, there's some similarities!

http://www.economist.com/node/18744391

MaxBialystock

The article makes sense. But to start with Harold Camping is to set up a "straw man" that can be easily knocked down. What a buffoon. I've listened to him on the radio in the car traveling up and down California's central valley, over and over, just for laughs, years ago. I am convinced that there are fundamentals about investing that we need to know. This is quite different from religious fundamentalism, though. Think of it this way: the wisdom of Benjamin Graham vs. the latest "in your face" souped-up market prediction on CNBC.