The 5 Mistakes Every Investor Makes and How to Avoid Them (E-Book) von Peter Mallouk

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

About the Author xvii

Legal Disclosure xix

Introduction The Market Wants to Be Your Friend xxi

Mistake #1 Market Timing 1

The Idiots 5

Why Is It So Hard to Beat the Market? 6

Efficient Markets 7

The Evidence (Research and Stuff) 8

The Media Get It Wrong, Over and Over Again 8

Economists Get It Wrong, Over and Over Again 9

Investment Managers Get It Wrong, Over and Over Again 14

Newsletters Get It Wrong, Over and Over Again 17

Your Buddy 18

Strategies That Dont Sound Like Market Timing but Are Market TimingOh, and They Dont Work Either 19

Asset-Class Rotation 19

Tactical Asset Allocation 20

Style Rotation 20

Sector Rotation 20

What Smart Investors Have to Say on Market Timing 20

Knowing All This, Why Would Anyone Market Time? 21

Corrections 22

Bear Markets: An Overview 26

Bear Markets Happen for Different Reasons, but the Outcome Is Always the Same 27

Bear Markets Are Not Predictable 28

When Bear Markets Turn, They Make People on the Sidelines Look Silly 30

The Market Is VolatileGet Used to It 30

You Cant Wait for Consumers to Feel Good 31

Learning to Accept the Bear Markets 33

Miscalculating the Risk of Market Timing 34

But What If I Am Perfect? 34

Lump-Sum Investing versus Dollar-Cost Averaging 36

Learning to Fly 40

Avoiding Mistake #1Market Timing 41

Mistake #2 Active Trading 43

The History of Active Trading 44

Active Investment Managers Lose to Indexing 45

Newsletters Lose to Indexing 45

Active Mutual Funds Lose to Indexing 45

Survivor Bias (a.k.a. Mutual Fund Performance Is Even Worse Than the Data Suggests) 47

What About the Winners, Huh? What About the Winners?! 48

Hedge Funds Lose to Indexing 51

EndowmentsMisperception of Performance 56

Venture Capital (Sounds Sexy but Usually a Dog) 57

The Taxman Cometh (a.k.a. Dear Goodness, It Gets Worse) 59

Portfolio Activity Hurts Performance 59

But Doesnt Active Management

Work in a Down Market? 60

Why Indexes Win 61

But Indexing Results in Average Returns 62

S&P 500, Here I Come! 62

Avoiding Mistake #2Active Trading 64

Mistake #3 Misunderstanding Performance and Financial Information 65

Misunderstanding #1Judging Performance in a Vacuum 65

Misunderstanding #2Believing the Financial Media Exists to Help You Make Smart Decisions (a.k.a. the Media Is Killing You) 67

Misunderstanding #3Believing That the Market Cares About Today 71

Misunderstanding #4Believing an All-Time High Means the Market is Due for a Pullback 74

Misunderstanding #5Believing Correlation Equals Causation 77

October Is The Worst Month to Invest 77

Sell in May and Go Away 78

Misunderstanding #6Believing Financial News Is Actionable 79

Misunderstanding #7Believing Republicans Are Better for the Market Than Democrats 80

Misunderstanding #8Overestimating the Impact of a Manager 82

Misunderstanding #9Believing Market Drops Are the Time to Get Defensive 83

Avoiding Mistake #3Misunderstanding Performance and Financial Information 84

Mistake #4 Letting Yourself Get in the Way 85

Fear, Greed, and Herding 85

The Overconfidence Effect 89

Confirmation Bias 93

Anchoring 95

Loss Aversion 97

Mental Accounting 98

Recency Bias 100

Negativity Bias 103

The Gambler 105

Avoiding Mistake #4Letting Yourself Get in the Way 106

Mistake #5 Working with the Wrong Advisor 107

Most Advisors Will Do Far More Harm Than Good 108

Advisor Selection Issue #1Custody 108

Advisor Selection Issue #2Conflict 113

Test #1Independent Advisor or Broker? 114

Investment Advisor Defined 114

Broker Defined 114

So Whats the Difference? 115

Test #2Pure Independent versus Independent and Broker 116

Test #3Proprietary Funds versus No

Proprietary Funds 117

A Final Thought on Conflicts 118

Advisor Selection Issue #3Competence 119

Competence Check #1Do the Advisors Credentials Meet Your Needs? 120

Competence Check #2Is the Advisor Right for You? 120

Competence Check #3Is the Advisor Following a Process That You Agree With? 120

A Final Thought on AdvisorsPrinciples 121

Avoiding Mistake #5Choosing the Wrong Advisor 122

Mistake #6 No Mistaking 125

Rule #1: Have a Clearly Defined Plan 125

Rule #2: Avoid Asset Classes That Diminish Results 127

CashThe Illusion of Safety 127

The Illusion of Gold as a Way to Grow Wealth 129

Rule #3: Use Stocks and Bonds as the Core Building Blocks of Your Intelligently Constructed Portfolio 131

Rule #4: Take a Global Approach 138

Rule #5: Use Primarily Index-Based Positions 140

Rule #6: Dont Blow Out Your Existing Holdings 140

Rule #7: Be Sure You Can Live with Your Allocation 142

Rule #8: Rebalance 143

Rule #9: Revisit the Plan 144

The Ultimate Rule: Dont Mess It Up! 145

Portfolio Example 146

The I Want to Beat the Market Portfolio 146

The I Need 7 Percent to Hit My Long-Term Retirement Goal Portfolio 146

The Get Me What I Need for the Rest of My Life with the Least Volatility Possible Portfolio 147

The I Have More Money Than I Will Ever Need and I Want It to Grow with Minimal Volatility Portfolio 148

The I Have More Money Than I Will Ever Need, Volatility Doesnt Bother Me, and I Want It to Grow Along with the Market Portfolio 148

A Path to Success: Intelligent Portfolio Construction 150

Youre the One 151

Conclusion Lets Roll!! 153

References 155

Index 163

This book, from New York Times best-selling author Peter Mallouk, will help you avoid the mistakes that stand in the way of investment success!

A reliable resource for investors who want to make more informed choices, this book steers readers away from past investment errors and guides them in the right direction.The Five Mistakes Every Investor Makes and How to Avoid Them, Second Edition, focuses on what investors do wrong, so you can avoid these common errors and set yourself on the right path to success. In this comprehensive reference, you'll learn to navigate the ever-changing variables and market dilemmas that can make investing a risky and daunting endeavor. In this Second Edition, Peter Mallouk shares new investment techniques, an expanded discussion of the importance of disciplined investment management, and updated advice on avoiding common pitfalls.

In this updated Second Edition, you'll find a workable, sensible investment framework that shows you how to refrain from fighting the market, misunderstanding performance, and letting your biases and emotions get in the way of investing success.

• Offers updated discussion and investment techniques to improve your performance in today's market conditions
• Details the major mistakes made by professional and everyday investors, including fighting the market, overactive trading, and not having an endgame
• Highlights the strategies and mindset necessary for navigating ever-changing variables and market dilemmas
• Includes useful investment techniques and discusses the importance of discipline in investment management

The Five Mistakes Every Investor Makes and How to Avoid Them, Second Edition leads you in the right investing direction and provides a roadmap that you can follow for a lifetime.

PETER MALLOUK is President and Chief Investment Officer of Creating Planning and its affiliated companies. Peters companies provide comprehensive wealth management services to their clients, including investment management, financial planning, charitable planning, retirement plan consulting, and tax and estate planning services.