A few reminders: No-one, absolutely no-one, knows everything. Professional investors and fund managers work full-time on their portfolios, have access to management teams and subscribe to great data and financial services, but the market is still bigger than them and very smart managers can still make very big mistakes. Defensive sectors can still decline. Preferred shares and utility stocks can also produce truly horrible performances. When markets shift, even so-called safe stocks can still take a big hit. Don’t "buy the news". A lot of investors trade around news events. They buy hoping for an earnings announcement, contract win or some other corporate event. All too often, though, when it happens (pretty seldom as it turns out) they still end up asking: "So why is the stock down?" Takeover rumours are a dime a dozen. Sure, maybe two or three of the rumours will come true over the years, but most won’t. Don’t rely on past performance. Investors have a tendency to fight the last w...
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