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Paul A. Merriman: Don’t Be Fooled: Stock Picking Is Still A Loser’s Game

TedTed
in Fund Discussions
FYI: Although I don’t spend a ton of time watching the financial news, I see more than enough of the misinformation that too many people seem to regard as factual.

Last week I was appalled (though not totally surprised) to see a commentator describe 2018 as likely to be “a stock picker’s year.”

This is the stupidest sales pitch for active management that I know. And I don’t think “stupid” is too strong a word.

The idea seemed to be that there’s something special about this coming year that will give active managers an advantage over index funds.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dont-be-fooled-stock-picking-is-still-a-losers-game-2018-01-17/print

Comments

  • LewisBraham
    Ready to give up, Ted?
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    The (rather loose) ground rules with respect to posting links asks the poster to include a short comment describing the nature of the link material. Ted cheats on this, and simply uses an excerpt from the link itself. This can be confusing, because we never know if the introductory remarks reflect what Ted actually thinks or not.

    Considering the huge number of links that Ted posts, his "shortcut" is understandable.
  • TedTed
    edited January 2018
    @Old_Joe: I'm so glad you understand !
    Regards,
    Ted:)
  • hank
    edited January 2018
    “Last week I was appalled (though not totally surprised) to see a commentator describe 2018 as likely to be “a stock picker’s year.”

    A great many cliches get tossed around in investment land. My favorite is the time I phoned a rep at Strong Funds to inquire why my fund had suddenly started losing money. The answer? “Your fund manager has been positioning himself.”

    And a great (possibly even thought-provoking) line attributed to Buffett: "Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway."
  • hmgodwin
    Doesn't the phrase "stock pickers market" simply mean, that one is expecting something other than "everything is going to go up by a lot"? Is it stupid to think, that some companies deserved to go up by a lot and others did not? Now this year may be a replay of last year, but I don't see it as stupid to think otherwise.
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