Anger at 18,000

 

The anger about the new all-time high the S&P 500 is currently approaching is palpable. Take my word for it, I read everything and everyone.

The 14.5% rally off the February lows, on nothing but worsening earnings and cuts to GDP forecasts has people utterly furious. I’m trying to remember a time in which stocks were on the verge of a breakout and people were so angry about it. The Dow just broke above 18,000 for the first time in nearly a year, and no one wants to even smile.

I think a lot of this stems from the seeming disconnect between a sluggish economy and record high stocks. Another component of it is the anxiousness that people feel so soon after it looked like a full-blown bear market could be upon us. There was recession talk in the air as recently as last month as well. People who did something to protect themselves – selling, shorting, hedging, etc – are absolutely furious. And it’s entirely understandable.

One of the things I am thankful for personally is that I stopped playing the guessing game professionally about where markets were headed roughly six years ago. The game was endlessly frustrating and I was never any good at it anyway. Running money based on evidence and rules, as we do today, has made a huge difference in my life. I can’t imagine ever going back to the way things were for me from 2000-2010.

When I think of all the time and energy I used to spend trying to guess at the unknowable, I shudder. When I see people still doing the same thing – making emotional calls about buying and selling based on the last thing they read or the feeling they woke up with, it’s amazing to me – even though I played the same game myself for so long. How can they seriously be doing this? With real money? 

Anger at new highs or because of a correction or bear market is symptomatic of process-free investing. I know this from experience, and I’m thankful for this experience even though it felt terrible at the time. It taught me what not to do.

Rules-based investing isn’t a silver bullet, nor will it ever remove the discomfort that every market participant is forced to feel from time to time. But having a rhyme and reason, laid out in advance, for the decisions you will and will not make, is utterly priceless in comparison to the alternative. An alternative you couldn’t pay me to regress back to.

 

Life is too short to be spent placing seat-of-the-pants bets in a casino where the rules change every week. Don’t get mad, get disciplined.

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. Immediate Edge Review commented on Sep 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  2. thenaturalpenguin.com commented on Sep 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 18901 more Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  3. mail order THC concentrates online commented on Sep 23

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  4. dumps + pin commented on Nov 20

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  5. bob wigs with bangs commented on Nov 28

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 44561 more Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  6. full spectrum hemp extract commented on Dec 07

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  7. 중계사이트 commented on Dec 09

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  8. https://auslotscasino.net/ commented on Jan 01

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 65649 additional Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  9. hr system software commented on Jan 21

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 47964 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  10. breitling replica watches commented on Jan 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  11. Bard T**H manuals commented on Jan 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  12. montre replique commented on Jan 24

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]

  13. DevOps Service Provider commented on Feb 07

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2016/04/20/anger-at-18000/ […]