I think he get s a lot of points right.

The system is set up to be opaque, the system will present financial traps as rich opportunities right up until they lead the CEO off in handcuffs and chain the doors shut. They will play off your fear, fear that you will miss a grand opportunity, and consumerist lust to steer you into financial dead ends.

Financial advisers, brokers and stock traders will always play Lucy to your Charlie Brown and snatch the football away at the last second. If they haven't taken you yet it is only because they want your fall to be more entertaining.

Scott Adams has a cynical and humorous look at investors and investments, and a potentially profitable strategy:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575285000265955016.html

I like it. It makes as much sense as anything else, possibly more.

Thanks!

Sue

freakin' awesome article

I found myself scratching my head and groaning at several points in the article. "Liking" or "hating" a company should have very little to do with investment. I would exempt decisions based upon ethical or moral considerations.

My father did very well by researching a company's past performance, but he spread the risk around by acquiring equity in something like twenty-five or so companies. Two or three were duds, most did very well, and one was GE, which was spectacular. My approach was less sophisticated - I put money in index funds and that has worked just fine. The main thing is to not be greedy, and try not to make a killing overnight. If you are comfortable with a reasonable rate of return, investing can be as exciting as watching paint dry, but far more lucrative. All this is past tense for me. I got out of the market about five years ago.

Wow, loosen up. It's tongue in cheek. However, I did find the article to have a refreshing ring of truth. The author appears to understand fully the research strategy and duly counters that strategy in a humorous manner: "1) Past performance is no indication of future performance. 2) You need to consider a company's track record."