T he other day, I was talking to a friend who asked me about the direction of markets and what could happen post-Budget. Not that I was interested in predicting specific levels, I said, "if people are too happy for too long, that itself is the biggest risk." As it goes on, keeping people happy for too long, can turn into a national disaster, much like other disasters where ultimately the government is blamed. The Dangers of Overconfidence Among the investing legends, I have lot of liking for Howard Marks and his insights about human behaviour, market cycles and many other things like second order thinking and going against the crowd. In his recent memo he writes (Mo st interesting lines in my view), The adage "success is a dangerous neighbour" is particularly relevant in investing. When individual...
T hese days most people are not interested in owning businesses; a basic premise Benjamin Graham argued for successful investing. Forget business, the "me too" crowd has coveted earnings per share for entertainment per share. That earnings is missing from the denominator (CMP/EPS = PE), and as a result, what we see today is a price-to-entertainment ratio (PE). Jokes apart, stock market is not for entertainment. Stock market is too costly affair for the entertainment, instead, If you are looking for excitement, go to any casino, horse racing. Chasing to buy next winner, buying hot stocks, playing momentum, trying to make quick money might entertain you but would serve no other meaningful purpose. Paul Samuelson once wrote - "Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas." Keynesian Beauty Contest Benjamin Graham used the analo...
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