Maybe 2008 and 2020 shellacked me into “Scared Straight” attitude that made me fearful of taking risks.
When markets are hot, I realize that markets generally go up, so best to stay fully invested. When markets start going down I think why didn’t I buy protection. Even when I am following disciplined strategy I can’t fully commit. For example, on day in 2020 I was watching VIX explode above 50 and bought double SPY and sold few hours later when VIX fell. Easy 9% for that trade, but not enough funds risked. “Most of the hedge funds on opposite side of my trade must be smarter than me”.
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At the end of the day, you have to execute on knowledge (about yourself) however you obtain it. IMO, only 5% of success depends on knowledge and the rest depends on execution.
And not to overthink what could-have or would-have.
Why torture the entire English speaking humanity and hijack “they” when “It” is available to use if “he” or “she” is not sufficient to describe oneself. It was very strange how everyone coddled those that demanded everyone else adapt to the confusion created in both listening and reading.
People are becoming insanely lazy and impractical. If “it” was not good enough, come up with a new word rather than butcher an existing word. Creativity has gone out the window and in its place selfishness and a sense of entitlement have taken hold.
From the critics POV, this is probably seen as a Tyranny of the Minority and they wanted to make sure their displeasure is registered and so they called the coddlers as playing “identity politics.”
It is time the Middle rises to their responsibility or they will get whacked around by the extremes. I would have never thought the extreme right and left will band together to bring down a developed country government. The unthinkable will happen if the Middle chooses to stay passive and disengaged.
There are alternatives other than "he or she" that one can use. Though a substitution may be inexact if one replaces a definite pronoun with an indefinite pronoun.
With AI supposedly becoming pervasive, "it" may in fact be the ideal pronoun. Or should we be saying he/she/it when the actual identity of a specific referent is unknown?
I have also used y'all through the years, and if I was dealing with a single human with multiple permutations to consider, there is always all y'all.
Think of traffic at red light and the chaos that would follow if no one followed the signals. But lights streamline the traffic. This may cause delays in some situations, so police & fire vehicles and ambulances can go through with sirens.
Many traders admit to using meditation.
The French « on » can be used to refer to a him, a her, or an unnamed person. In English the possessive his/hers changes according to the possessor, whereas « son/sa/ses » in French changes according to the gender of the noun, the thing possessed. The French « on » is flexible enough that it can be used to refer to anyone, even I, you, he, she, we, and they. British English presents a partial solution in its much more frequent use of one/one’s in everyday speech. As is the case in French, the Brits have found a way to employ « one » to refer to more than just the third person singular, but I suspect Americans would find such speech too rarified or posh to adopt it. I can’t imagine the average American saying, « One was a bit stressed by news of the outbreak of war, » where the speaker is being self-referential. The French Academy, the arbiter of all things grammar in France, made an effort some years ago to remove « sexism » from the language through suggested usage reforms; AFAIK, the efforts met with ridicule.
Many politicians ahead of major speeches, actors ahead of demanding scenes, and traders on volatile days may take a drink or two (who is counting?).
Humphrey Bogart famously said that the world is 3 drinks behind.
Pandemic lockdown was transformational for me in many ways. I stopped drinking cold turkey. I expanded my social-media presence, joined MFO, etc.
TM for me, I do believe; has made a difference. Although, I can't compare to another me, as I've meditated for 50 years. And no, for those who do not meditate; I've not had some grand cosmic experience.........but a few small interesting experiences that would not have happened otherwise. Of this, I am certain. The affects on the human body are more readily measured today. This physical benefit is over and above what one may expect from a 'cosmic journey' on the side of a mental experience .
2. With vastly improved medical measurements available today (versus the 1970's) it is my understanding that blood pressure and most normal items associated with a complete physical improve over time, assuming no other personal habits have changed.
These would include brain activity and/or functions. I'm sure one can readily find this data/studies via YouTube or other searches.
, could mean at least one million more. Coulda had the brokers yacht and Ferris Bueler’s Ferrari…gonna drink my big Black Cow…
One of the Ferraris From Ferris Bueller's Day Off Just Sold for $396,000 in 2020. Replica 250 GT.
Years ago, mine did only IF I opted for pension, not lump-sum. But plans differ on this.
The ‘07-‘09 fiasco was relatively short in comparison to some of the major historical market slides. May have taught some of us the wrong lesson.
I’d suggest following at least three different market commentators (pundits) with contrasting market outlooks or approaches to investing, including one bearish source. Try to give each some credence and then chart your course..
The portfolio analyzers may help keep one (ie he, she, it, they, them) on an even knell. If it’s hard to find compelling buys, ratchet up the cash, bond, “other” or income focused part while pulling back a bit on the percentage in stocks. Personally, I reached a high of 48-50% equities 12-18 months ago. Has fallen to 35% today. My unorthodox approach is to swap-out entire portfolio segments (each representing about 17%).Hence, the considerable slug in LCORX (60+% equity) was recently moved into LPXAX which invests primally in short duration bonds and preferred stocks. A year from now, who knows? Might sell it and move back into a more aggressive holding if market valuations change. (My positioning is for a 78 year old and not a recommendation for others.)
I do not recommend alcohol for any important thought activity like trading. But it probably works for some. I began taking small doses of NAC, a non-prescription health supplement a decade ago after reading a WSJ piece saying it may stop nail biting. And it worked after 40+ years of gnawing. Works by reducing compulsive tendencies. I don’t think it affects my investing. But possibly makes the bumps along the way easier to tolerate.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a44591291/nac-supplement-benefits/
I know of a distressed credit manager who keeps 100% of his investment between SPY and QQQ, depending on whether he wants to tilt to extra growth. My taxable account (mostly ETFs) is wildly profitable compared to my IRAs because I can not trade in the taxable account. It would have been better if I did not deviate from SPX. Also, my IRA always has twice as much cash compared to my taxable account. 99% of my investing effort is on my IRAs.
The source of my underperformance emanates from a constant feeling that SPX is very expensive. There is a good reason why it is expensive. I would never eat cheap sushi but I always looked for cheapness in investing. It seems investing based on feelings is dangerous.
Having said all that, if the role of money is to buy conveniences, then maximizing portfolio size should not be the goal but efficiency (or effortlessness) can always be the goal.