Patrick O’Shaughnessy attempts to combine all the key attributes in order to create a “Perfect Investor” in a new post at his site, Millennial Invest.
I’ll go the other way around and build the absolute worst investor, taking the worst qualities that we can possess to create an absolute Frankenstein monster…
1. Obsesses over each day’s activity
2. Relentlessly judges self against benchmarks, picking and choosing which one “matters” on any given day
3. Is preoccupied with other people’s trades and quick to hurl insults at people who get things wrong
4. Cannot tolerate the disagreement of other investors, takes personal offense and lashes out in the presence of dissent over an investment idea
5. Attempts to assignmeaning to every random fluctuation in the markets
6. Constantly incorporating new data into a “master” thesis or theme, rejecting whatever doesn’t fit
7. Keeps a running score over who else was wrong or right over years and years
8. Emphasizes winning trades in conversation as though they exist in isolation
9. Plays for batting average (W’s and L’s) as opposed to the overall result, ignores trading costs, taxes and other tangible portfolio friction
10. Frequently abandons an underperforming strategy when something else appears to be working better
11. Blames larger forces for unsatisfactory results, ie: The Fed, Central Banking, Politicians, etc
12. Adopts really strong opinions and defends them to the death
13. Allows religious, political or social views to color (dominate?) their investment portfolio / strategy
14. Uses tips from experts in lieu of research, misunderstands the difference between TV and real life
15. Forgets that a stock or a fund doesn’t know or care who its owners are, or what price they acquired it at; trades for revenge
We’ve all exhibited a few of these traits. If you come into contact with someone who exhibits many or most of them, know that you’re dealing with a schmuck and run the other way.
[…] • How, and Why, Apple Overtook Microsoft (NYT) • Legends of Indexing: Rob Arnott (ETF.com) • Gold Tarnishes as U.S. Economy Strengthens (WSJ) but see Foreigners Are Failing to Buy Enough Stuff (Bloomberg View) • Thanks a lot, austerity! We could have had 2014′s economic recovery in 2011. (The Week) • Building The Perfect Investor (Millennial Invest) see also An Investing Frankenstein (Reformed Broker) […]
I’m a New York City-based financial advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. I help people invest and manage portfolios for them. For disclosure information please see here.
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Funny “@ConcordiaTrades: @RedDogT3 that post fails number 7 and probably a couple other ones from here: http://t.co/tynvW1pYxU”
Investing Frankenstein – how to build the absolute worst investor. #investing @eyeonequities http://t.co/wqZshauOBE
Investing Frankenstein – how to build the absolute worst investor. #investing @MoneySenseMag http://t.co/3by9pBxuqG
15 traits of a bad investor @ReformedBroker http://t.co/SKNhNzlRgC
LOL: An Investing Frankenstein http://t.co/QeznOOZEz5 via @ReformedBroker
[…] • How, and Why, Apple Overtook Microsoft (NYT) • Legends of Indexing: Rob Arnott (ETF.com) • Gold Tarnishes as U.S. Economy Strengthens (WSJ) but see Foreigners Are Failing to Buy Enough Stuff (Bloomberg View) • Thanks a lot, austerity! We could have had 2014′s economic recovery in 2011. (The Week) • Building The Perfect Investor (Millennial Invest) see also An Investing Frankenstein (Reformed Broker) […]
Investing Frankenstein – how to build the absolute worst investor. #investing @daily_finance http://t.co/HaT8fWjmBx
Investing Frankenstein – how to build the absolute worst investor. #investing @moneytalkstweet http://t.co/6pktss9v32
Joshua Brown builds An Investing Frankenstein @ReformedBroker http://t.co/5VKgNctOd2
15 traits of a bad investor @ReformedBroker http://t.co/JKqzHOkcjK
“@RobinJPowell: 15 traits of a bad investor @ReformedBroker http://t.co/c6OYQHvfVF” #investorbehaviormatters
[…] Building The Perfect Investor (Millennial Invest) see also An Investing Frankenstein (Reformed Broker) […]
[…] Prototypen: Der bestmögliche Investor (Englisch, millenialinvest) und der schlechtmöglichste Investor (Englisch, […]
RT @MSlayen: “@RobinJPowell: 15 traits of a bad investor @ReformedBroker http://t.co/c6OYQHvfVF” #investorbehaviormatters
An Investing Frankenstein http://t.co/zhjycmTZcb via @getswayy @ReformedBroker #investments #investment #indexing #millennial