MICHEL PIREU: Bears, bulls, pigs, wolves — and all the other investors we know
Success or failure on the equity markets can be directly linked to the animal trait one adopts
Stock market analysts, commentators and other pundits have come to rely on the traits of familiar animals to succinctly describe the different "species" of market participants and capture the "animal spirit" that supposedly drives them — albeit not always in the right direction. Among the more popular of these, we find: Bulls and Bears: "If you are cheering it one way, there is always somebody else cheering it just as hard that it will go the other way." — Marty Schwart The bull depicts investors who are optimistic about the future prospects of the market and believe an upward trending market is under way. The polar opposite is the bear; an investor who is convinced the market is headed for a fall. As James Montier suggests: "We need to stop pretending that we can divine the future, and … concentrate on understanding the present and preparing for the unknown. There is a simple, although not easy alternative (to taking a bullish or bearish position)… Buy when an asset is cheap, and s...
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