The idea of following sound principles is one of the main lessons in The Intelligent Investor. The other, of course, is the cycle of optimism and pessimism in the markets. The sound principles help to avoid mistakes and think independent of the crowd.
The cycle is what gets people into trouble. Those basic principles get tossed aside for what appears to be something better. But with markets, there’s always something better. The shiny object syndrome exists around returns. There is always something outperforming, which causes people to pile in, only to watch it lose – literally and figurative – to something else. Continue Reading…
