market folly

This week Abnormal Returns hosted a series of questions on investing and asked a panel of financial bloggers to give their answers.  We were honored to be included and have posted our answers below as well as links so you can see the answers from the other panel members as well.


Question: If you had a son or daughter just beginning to invest, what would you tell them to do to best prepare themselves for a lifetime of good investing?

Answer: "Take emotion out of the equation.  If you can think and act rationally when others do not, that’s an advantage.  Never stop learning… the best investors will tell you that investing is a continual education."  Check out others' responses here.


Q: Considering all the topics you have written about, which you you think is most underappreciated or overlooked by the majority of investors?

A: "Knowing which hedge funds to track.  Many people want to know what SAC Capital, RenTec, and Soros Fund are investing in.  The problem is hedge fund tracking only works if you’re following the right funds.  People get caught up in the big names when realistically SAC trades too frequently, RenTec is a quant (who knows why they buy anything) and Soros holds hundreds of positions.  People want updates on the ‘famous’ names, overlooking advice to the contrary."  See what everyone else answered here.


Q: If you could work, without pay, with any investor or trader for one year, who would it be? 

A: "John Griffin of Blue Ridge Capital."  Check out what other investors people picked here.


Q: What piece of wisdom or advice do you most wish you had ignored?

A: This question makes you really think and we honestly couldn't come up with an answer.  There are some creative responses from others here though.


Q: In the past year what book, article or blog post changed the way you think about an important topic?

A: "Philippe Laffont (hedge fund Coatue Management) talked about his concentrated portfolio approach which makes you think about position sizing and focusing on your best ideas."  Everyone else submitted their choices here.


Q: What asset would you feel most comfortable buying and holding for the next ten years?

A: "Unconventional answer: Invest in yourself.  That’s one 'asset class' you have the most control over."  See everyone else's answers to this question here.


Thanks again to Abnormal Returns and be sure to click that link to scroll through the site to read all the responses from the panel on each question.