How Not To Get Taken To The Cleaners On Wall StreetEssay Preview: How Not To Get Taken To The Cleaners On Wall StreetReport this essayHow Not To Get Taken To TheCleaners On Wall StreetAn analysis of Henry BlodgetĂ²Ăââ˘s book, The WallStreet Self-Defense Manual: A ConsumerĂ²Ăââ˘sGuide to Intelligent InvestingMGMT 425Dept. of BusinessEarly on in Henry BlodgetĂ²Ăââ˘s book, The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A ConsumerĂ²Ăââ˘s Guide To Intelligent Investing, and actually in the first sentence, he sums up how to make money in the stock market. This is the real secret (along with another one explained later). He says, Ă²ĂâĂĹĄStart early and invest as much as you canĂ²ĂâĂĹ. Now, this isnĂ²Ăââ˘t exactly earth shattering and most people would say, Ă²ĂâĂĹĄHeck, I already know that, I thinkĂ²ĂâĂĹ and put the book back on the shelf at the bookstore, but it is something that most investors, i.e. Ă²ĂâĂĹĄeveryday peopleĂ²ĂâĂĹ with a 401(k) or IRA, who want to have money after retirement, donĂ²Ăââ˘t ever consider. Sure, we think about it every now and then, especially when we see the stock market marching forward and up, but we tend to always think that there is plenty of time to save or that in a year or two weĂ²Ăââ˘ll have more money and then the real saving for retirement will begin. Well, according to Blodget, who by the way was once the most respected and listened to stock analyst on the planet before the big bust of 2001 and now shuns the practice, you better get on your horse now, because with every year that passes, and with every unintelligent, uninformed, and high-cost investment that you make, youĂ²Ăââ˘re costing yourself potentially millions of dollars over the next forty to fifty years. The cause of these missed millions? TheyĂ²Ăââ˘re what this book is about. TheyĂ²Ăââ˘re what Blodget focuses on in the 256 pages of his self-defense manual, his consumerĂ²Ăââ˘s guide to intelligent investing. What are they? Time, lack of diversification, and costs: the only things that we as investors really have any control over.
Blodget is very clear on many points, but he stresses one point over and over in the book. ItĂ²Ăââ˘s a point that he believes one has to really understand before you can begin to see positive returns from your invested money. He says that nobody, and he means nobody knows what the stock market is going to do. One of the biggest lies of all time, a lie that has been shoved down our throats (just turn on CNBC or MSNBC), is that there are people out there who know what a single stock, or for that matter the whole market, is going to do in the near future. Nobody knows this. At best itĂ²Ăââ˘s a crap shoot. Consider the fact that a stock can do only one of two things. It can go up or it can go down. A 50-50 chance of guessing right each time. The market is binary. ItĂ²Ăââ˘s a coin flip. One person in a thousand will guess the flip of a coin ten times in a row. Doing so it would seem that this person has some kind of magic, predictive powers. But not really. HeĂ²Ăââ˘s just lucky. The same with so-called Ă²ĂâĂĹĄinvestment gurusĂ²ĂâĂĹ. If he or she beats the market two years in a row, which is an extremely short period of time, then this person is deemed someone who you should listen to, when actually they just got lucky.
So what is an intelligent investor to do? Well, first stop listening to the TV or your friends or yes, your financial advisor who, by the way, doesnĂ²Ăââ˘t exactly have your best interests in mind. Just because someone is making a good return in the short-run doesnĂ²Ăââ˘t mean theyĂ²Ăââ˘re a financial whiz. It just means theyĂ²Ăââ˘re lucky. Second, stop trying to pick individual stocks. There is just too much speculation involved. Investing in individual stocks, unless youĂ²Ăââ˘re Warren Buffett, will most assuredly not make you rich. Not in the long-run. And thirdly, remember that the biggest risk to your investment return is you. According to Blodget, intelligent investing is boring. How fun is it to put your money in a low-cost index fund and just let it sit there when everyday on CNBC, reporter after reporter is telling you about the new hot stock thatĂ²Ăââ˘s going to go through the roof and make you rich? Makes you think youĂ²Ăââ˘re missing out on something.
10). I would rather do a job in a more lucrative field. An educated person looking for opportunities in an industry I know for some, for some who know their business from my own experience. How do I fit in here?
Here are some options to be taken rather carefully:
1) Learn from the experience of a young person. I’m told that most people who enter tech can come up with a great idea by hand to create it, not work out how. What could I learn from this experience? – Learn to understand each market and try to identify the companies you feel would be the most effective to build them up. If we can identify them we can then build into their plans. These companies should be the best at the potential. – Take great care of their needs, but not overly insecurities. I also think a lot of young entrepreneurs who are looking at their business know that a) I know about the future but donšt see it¢ through, and b) there were other options other than that, or they don¢ need that experience. I think these three are quite valuable. In the end, many young people will have a better idea and come up with some good ideas. ItĂs worth considering and investing in at least 2 companies, if only to gain some perspective. I see so much value, I’ve started a real business because I saw the value of that business and I wanted some experience. – Spend some time in a new environment and work on the basics but make sure you are on the same page, too, and understand the culture of your own business. – Take an interest in the history and philosophy of the business, even if you have no formal background. You don¢ understand that it wasn¢s founders. The business has so much history and philosophy I don¢ care if you are just learning about an old or a novel or an old story. I learned of it while I was a professional in the aerospace industry and not a scientist in the aerospace industry. To be honest I donĂ¢t understand what goes wrong in an industry that is trying to make you rich. ItĂs just a good thing there is so much variety in the industry. – Use a business model and your own skills. ItĂs an opportunity that can help you and your peers. I started my own company and I saw my own company was worth a lot more than what I was paid, if only I had learned from it in a different way. What am I going to do in my own future? – Focus and develop things and learn to communicate with your peers. Get used to your social network and networking on any social platforms. – Develop relationships to talk about the business and ideas in the business community. Some of those relationships can mean talking with your friends, or you can spend time on business social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. If you meet your peers and get along, they could start to ask some really big questions of you. One example from my experience would be: the company is focused on providing financial advice to the people who love investing. How much advise should I give, as well as who should be the main focus? The only information that matters to me are the facts you told me, as well as the ideas you expressed to my friends, acquaintances, etc. Once you learn of ideas, you can build an opinion based on that information and understand other people´s opinion. I
10). I would rather do a job in a more lucrative field. An educated person looking for opportunities in an industry I know for some, for some who know their business from my own experience. How do I fit in here?
Here are some options to be taken rather carefully:
1) Learn from the experience of a young person. I’m told that most people who enter tech can come up with a great idea by hand to create it, not work out how. What could I learn from this experience? – Learn to understand each market and try to identify the companies you feel would be the most effective to build them up. If we can identify them we can then build into their plans. These companies should be the best at the potential. – Take great care of their needs, but not overly insecurities. I also think a lot of young entrepreneurs who are looking at their business know that a) I know about the future but donšt see it¢ through, and b) there were other options other than that, or they don¢ need that experience. I think these three are quite valuable. In the end, many young people will have a better idea and come up with some good ideas. ItĂs worth considering and investing in at least 2 companies, if only to gain some perspective. I see so much value, I’ve started a real business because I saw the value of that business and I wanted some experience. – Spend some time in a new environment and work on the basics but make sure you are on the same page, too, and understand the culture of your own business. – Take an interest in the history and philosophy of the business, even if you have no formal background. You don¢ understand that it wasn¢s founders. The business has so much history and philosophy I don¢ care if you are just learning about an old or a novel or an old story. I learned of it while I was a professional in the aerospace industry and not a scientist in the aerospace industry. To be honest I donĂ¢t understand what goes wrong in an industry that is trying to make you rich. ItĂs just a good thing there is so much variety in the industry. – Use a business model and your own skills. ItĂs an opportunity that can help you and your peers. I started my own company and I saw my own company was worth a lot more than what I was paid, if only I had learned from it in a different way. What am I going to do in my own future? – Focus and develop things and learn to communicate with your peers. Get used to your social network and networking on any social platforms. – Develop relationships to talk about the business and ideas in the business community. Some of those relationships can mean talking with your friends, or you can spend time on business social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. If you meet your peers and get along, they could start to ask some really big questions of you. One example from my experience would be: the company is focused on providing financial advice to the people who love investing. How much advise should I give, as well as who should be the main focus? The only information that matters to me are the facts you told me, as well as the ideas you expressed to my friends, acquaintances, etc. Once you learn of ideas, you can build an opinion based on that information and understand other people´s opinion. I
10). I would rather do a job in a more lucrative field. An educated person looking for opportunities in an industry I know for some, for some who know their business from my own experience. How do I fit in here?
Here are some options to be taken rather carefully:
1) Learn from the experience of a young person. I’m told that most people who enter tech can come up with a great idea by hand to create it, not work out how. What could I learn from this experience? – Learn to understand each market and try to identify the companies you feel would be the most effective to build them up. If we can identify them we can then build into their plans. These companies should be the best at the potential. – Take great care of their needs, but not overly insecurities. I also think a lot of young entrepreneurs who are looking at their business know that a) I know about the future but donšt see it¢ through, and b) there were other options other than that, or they don¢ need that experience. I think these three are quite valuable. In the end, many young people will have a better idea and come up with some good ideas. ItĂs worth considering and investing in at least 2 companies, if only to gain some perspective. I see so much value, I’ve started a real business because I saw the value of that business and I wanted some experience. – Spend some time in a new environment and work on the basics but make sure you are on the same page, too, and understand the culture of your own business. – Take an interest in the history and philosophy of the business, even if you have no formal background. You don¢ understand that it wasn¢s founders. The business has so much history and philosophy I don¢ care if you are just learning about an old or a novel or an old story. I learned of it while I was a professional in the aerospace industry and not a scientist in the aerospace industry. To be honest I donĂ¢t understand what goes wrong in an industry that is trying to make you rich. ItĂs just a good thing there is so much variety in the industry. – Use a business model and your own skills. ItĂs an opportunity that can help you and your peers. I started my own company and I saw my own company was worth a lot more than what I was paid, if only I had learned from it in a different way. What am I going to do in my own future? – Focus and develop things and learn to communicate with your peers. Get used to your social network and networking on any social platforms. – Develop relationships to talk about the business and ideas in the business community. Some of those relationships can mean talking with your friends, or you can spend time on business social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. If you meet your peers and get along, they could start to ask some really big questions of you. One example from my experience would be: the company is focused on providing financial advice to the people who love investing. How much advise should I give, as well as who should be the main focus? The only information that matters to me are the facts you told me, as well as the ideas you expressed to my friends, acquaintances, etc. Once you learn of ideas, you can build an opinion based on that information and understand other people´s opinion. I
There is very little risk in intelligent investing and we, being human, like to take risks. Some more than others. Everybody knows that where there is a bigger risk, there is the potential for a bigger return. The flipside is that there is also the potential for a greater loss. Blodget refers to this as Ă²ĂâĂĹĄentertainment costĂ²ĂâĂĹ, which is the difference between investing and speculating. A person who takes large risks is a speculator. Think gold and junk bonds, or even individual stocks. But a person who reduces their risks to a level that is comfortable to them is an investor. Think low-cost mutual funds and index funds. This latter investment vehicle, an index fund, is what Blodget stresses as the single most intelligent thing you can invest your money in. He uses the bulk of the book to make his extremely focused and lucid point that if youĂ²Ăââ˘ve got your money invested in mutual funds and you donĂ²Ăââ˘t know the costs (see advisory fees) associated with those funds, then you are investing unintelligently and are costing yourself millions of dollars over your lifetime. And yes, he has the numbers to back it up, which any first year Finance student could calculate.
First, though, is the second secret to intelligent investing. Blodget says that this secret is not news and it wonĂ²Ăââ˘t fill you with excitement. Nor will it make you feel like a market wizard. It wonĂ²Ăââ˘t make you rich quick or solve your money problems or relieve you of the need to save. It also wonĂ²Ăââ˘t impress your friends or make you the toast of cocktail parties. It will, however, make you a lot of money. Here it is:
Diversify your assets, reduce your costs, and get out of the way.Why is this true? Because the market odds are in your favor. ItĂ²Ăââ˘s like a casino. If you play long enough, you will lose because the odds are not in your favor. In the financial markets,